Worst storm hits US: 220 dead so far

BIRMINGHAM (Alabama), Apr 28 (AFP): The worst storms to slam southern US states in years flattened buildings and overturned vehicles, with intense tornados and floods leaving a trail of destruction and 220 people dead. The severe weather killed 131 people in Alabama Wednesday alone, authorities said, and President Barack Obama said Washington would be rushing assistance to the battered southeastern state. States of emergency were declared in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee and Oklahoma, and governors called out the National Guard to help with rescue and cleanup operations. The US National Weather Service has preliminary reports of nearly 300 tornadoes since the storm began on last Friday, including more than 130 on Wednesday alone. Alabama declared a "major disaster" Thursday and sought federal aid after a series of intense tornadoes caused catastrophic damage across the southern US state, killing at least 131 people. "Today, we'll ask the president to declare an expedited major disaster request" that would swiftly free up federal assets to assist with rescue and recovery operations, Alabama Governor Robert Bentley told a conference call, adding there were as many as half a million to a million people in the state without electricity. Meanwhile, US officials were Thursday monitoring a nuclear plant in the southern state of Alabama that lost power amid severe storms that swept through the region. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) said the Browns Ferry nuclear power plant near Athens, Alabama "lost offsite power early Wednesday evening due to severe storms that damaged power lines in the area." The plant automatically shut down after losing offsite power and operators from the Tennessee Valley Authority are working to restore that supply, said the NRC, stressing the plant's "safety systems have operated as needed." Alabama was especially badly hit, caught by two lines of storms and an evening tornado that tore through the city of Tuscaloosa, home to the University of Alabama. Tuscaloosa Mayor Walter Maddox told CNN that the tornado had "obliterated blocks and blocks" of his city, leaving 36 people dead there. "Infrastructure has been absolutely devastated," he said early Thursday. "When you look at this path of destruction, likely five to seven miles (eight to 11 kilometers) long and half a mile to a mile wide, I don't know how anyone survived," Maddox said.