Washington, April 29: A state of emergency has been declared in nine states after the death toll from the catastrophic storms and tornados that swept through the southern United States has risen to around 300, with 204 confirmed fatalities in the state of Alabama alone.
In the six states including Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia and Kentucky, the death toll amounted to 290, Fox News reported, bringing the total fatalities across the whole region to around 300.
This was the worst tornado outbreak since 1974 when a super tornado killed 315 people.
In Alabama, the 90,000-strong city of Tuscaloosa was hit hardest, with at least 37 people killed, including some students, authorities said.
States of emergency have been declared in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Virginia, and governors called out the National Guard to help with rescue and cleanup operations.
The disastrous storms have caused widespread power shortage, with approximately one million customers without electricity.
A nuclear plant in Alabama lost power because of the severe weather, and the federal nuclear safety regulator said it was monitoring the situation there.
“The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff is monitoring the situation at the Browns Ferry nuclear power plant after the site lost offsite power early Wednesday evening due to severe storms that damaged power lines in the area,” the agency said in a statement issued Thursday.
Three units at the Browns Ferry plant automatically shut down after losing offsite power Wednesday evening, and safety systems “have operated as needed,” said the agency.
President Barack Obama on Thursday called the loss of life “heartbreaking,” and promised to do everything he can to support the disaster relief efforts.
“We can’t control when or where a terrible storm may strike, but we can control how we respond to it,” Obama said during a press conference at the White House. “The federal government will do everything we can to help you recover.”
Obama said he will on Friday travel to Alabama, where he will view the damage as well as meet with Governor Robert Bentley, state and local officials and families affected by the storms.
At the direction of the president, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Craig Fugate flew to Alabama on Thursday to meet with Governor Bentley and assess the damage.
“I think this is going to rank up as one of the worst tornado outbreaks in U.S. history,” Fugate said in an interview with CNN from Alabama. “We’re still trying to get people through rescues and locate the missing.”
Earlier in the day, Obama spoke via telephone with Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and Fugate to discuss the continuing federal disaster relief efforts for areas affected by the severe weather, the White House said in a statement.
Napolitano and Fugate briefed the president on the federal government’s actions to assist states following the severe weather system that has caused “significant damage and loss of life,” according to the statement.
–Agencies