Tornado Storm Rips Through South, Leaving at Least 50 Dead

By Anastacia Mott Austin

While people in the rest of the country were still visiting polls for Tuesday’s "super" multiple-state primary, residents in many southern states were dealing with a super storm, in fear for their lives.

A high intensity storm system, including several tornadoes, tore through Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee late Tuesday night, causing a swath of destruction and death.

Tennessee was the hardest hit, reporting at least 26 deaths. Thirteen people were killed in Arkansas, seven in Kentucky, and four in Alabama.

Student Lauren Smith, a freshman at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee, told interviewers on NPR Radio, "It [sounded] like a train was coming for us." Smith took shelter in a bathroom in her dorm, along with other students. After telling reporters that the campus looked "literally like a bomb had gone off," she said that she and her fellow students just prayed and knew that "the sovereign Lord" was watching over them.

The 50 people killed in states all over the South weren’t so lucky. The mother of an 11-month-old baby was found dead, in a drainage ditch. Her baby son was found nearby and taken to a local hospital for treatment.

A man and his wife watched in vain as the man’s brother died in their truck while they tried to make it to a hospital in time, only to be prevented by damaged roads. "He never had a chance," said Nova Story, the victim’s sister-in-law. "I looked him right in the eye and he died right there in front of me."

President Bush promised prayers and help. "Loss of life, loss of property—prayers can help and so can the government," said Bush to the press. "I do want the people in those states to know the American people are standing with them."

There’s not much left standing in too many towns across the South. Complete devastation faces many who tried to return to their homes, only to find nothing there.

Many of the candidates poised for election results told crowds they had the Southern states in their thoughts and prayers. "While we hope tonight is a time for us to celebrate election results, we are reminded that nothing is as important as the lives of these fellow Arkansans," said former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, speaking from a hall in Little Rock where the candidate was watching election results. "Our hearts go out to their families."