Tornadoes Leave Trail of Death and Devastation

The death toll from a wave of tornadoes that swept the southern US was rising last night as rescuers continued to sift the rubble of flattened buildings. At least 50 people were killed and hundreds more were injured, many critically, as the deadliest twisters for more than 20 years struck before dawn and carved a path of devastation through eight states.

Meteorologists recorded 67 tornadoes, from Arkansas to Georgia. The worst hit state was Tennessee, where 24 people died, including the victims of an explosion at a natural gas distribution station in Hartsville that shot flames more than 150 metres (500ft) in the air.

The roofs of two dormitory buildings at Union University, Jackson, were destroyed, trapping eight and injuring 51, as more than 1,000 students slept below, and three people seeking shelter in a warehouse in Shelby were killed when the roof fell on them.

National Guard troops were called out to assist the rescue effort in many states, plucking people from swollen rivers and moving from house to house to free trapped residents. Fallen power lines and debris blocking roads hampered much of the rescue work.

"The damage is massive and widespread," said Mike Beebe, the governor of Arkansas, where 13 fatalities were reported. "We've had reports from people who credit the warnings for saving their lives and who were able to take cover. But even when you get a warning it might not do you much good. When it's compounded by darkness that makes it much more difficult."

The death toll was the highest from tornadoes in the United States since May 1985 when more than 40 twisters touched down in Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. Those tornadoes killed 88 people. Bill McCaul, a tornado expert with Nasa's Global Hydrology and Climate Center, said of this week's storms: "This is substantial and one of the worst outbreaks we've seen in recent years. The problem with these winter tornadoes in the south-eastern US is that they move at 50-60mph and often come under the cover of darkness. There's not much time to get out of the way and if you are asleep you may not get word."

In Arkansas many of the houses in the small town of Atkins, 60 miles north of Little Rock, were destroyed. The victims included an 11-year-old girl and her parents when their home took "a direct hit", according to Leonard Krout, the Pope County coroner. "Neighbors and friends who were there said, 'there used to be a home there,'" he said.

Three more victims were reported in Sumner County, Tennessee, including a couple discovered outside the remnants of their house, and a young mother found in a river bed whose baby was rescued alive in the street just meters away.

George Bush expressed his sympathies for the victims, who included seven in Kentucky and four in Alabama. "We hold up those who have suffered in our prayers," he said, promising that the Federal Emergency Management Agency was standing by to help with recovery efforts.

The band of tornadoes weakened slightly as it moved east towards Georgia and the Florida panhandle last night, threatening to delay today's scheduled launch of the space shuttle Atlantis from Cape Canaveral.

The deadliest tornadoes reported in the US occurred in March 1925, leaving 695 people dead and more than 2,000 injured in Missouri, Illinois and Indiana, says the Vermont-based Tornado Project.