picture taken from TuscaloosaNews Twitter
Deadly tornados and thunderstorms tore through the South early today, pushing the death toll to at least 210 people in five states and giving neighboring states a possible taste of what’s to come today, authorities said.
So far 164 tornados have been reported from Mississippi to New York, the worst tornado outbreak since 1974 when a super tornado outbreak killed more than 300 people.
The extreme weather has been blamed for 210 deaths over the past several days. The majority of the deaths have been reported in Alabama with 131 people killed, including 32 in the city of Tuscaloosa alone. Early estimates indicate that the tornado in Tuscaloosa could have been on the ground for 176 miles with winds between 167 and 200 mph.
About 2,000 National guard soldiers have been activiated to help with search and rescue in Alabama and Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley said officials plan to tour the hardest hit areas today.
“There is some massive devastation out there; massive destruction of property” Bently said.
Bentley said officials expect the death toll to rise as they assess the damage but said they are in a search-and-rescue mode for now.
Read more:
http://abcnews.go.com/US/tornadoes-210-killed-south-including-131-alabama/story?id=13474955]]>
