Asia-Pacific

Tornadoes pummel southern US, 43 dead

(Agencies)
Updated: 2011-04-18 09:16

Homes, belongings scattered

Governors in North Carolina and Virginia declared a state of emergency as authorities scrambled with rescue and cleanup operations.

In North Carolina, high winds destroyed more than 130 homes and damaged more than 700, the governor's office said.

"We're used to hurricanes. We're used to tornadoes. We're used to floods. But we're not used to losing 11 of our citizens," said Bertie County Manager Zee Lamb. The sprawling, rural area in northeastern North Carolina, was the hardest hit.

"The thing about this storm that is different than a typical tornado was the width," Lamb said. "It wasn't just 100 or 200 yards wide, but a half-mile wide and it stayed on the ground for six miles or so."

Progress Energy, the main utility in eastern North Carolina, said 220,000 customers were without electricity at the peak of the storm, with 78,000 homes and utilities still without power on Sunday morning.

The storm snapped hundreds of power poles and 30 transmission structures were damaged, company spokesman Mike Hughes said. In some areas, tornadoes swept away poles and wires and dropped them elsewhere.

"There are some parts where a tornado took the utility structure away and we cannot find it," Hughes said.

The storms let up on Sunday, but Mussoline said more tornadoes could threaten the southern plains and Ohio Valley in the coming week, particularly on Tuesday.