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Obama Surveys Alabama Storm Damage

   VOA News  April 29, 2011
   President Barack Obama walks with Col. Charles F. Spencer, Jr., vice
   commander, 89th Airlift Wing, Andrews Air Force Base, prior to boarding
   Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Apr 29 2011, as he
   traveled to Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Photo: AP

   President Barack Obama walks with Col. Charles F. Spencer, Jr., vice
   commander, 89th Airlift Wing, Andrews Air Force Base, prior to boarding
   Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Apr 29 2011, as he
   traveled to Tuscaloosa, Alabama

   U.S. President Barack Obama is surveying the damage in Alabama from
   violent tornadoes and thunderstorms that killed more than 300 people in
   the southern United States.
   The president arrived Friday to meet with Alabama Governor Robert
   Bentley and other officials, and families affected by the storms,
   during a visit to Tuscaloosa.
   White House spokesman Jay Carney said Mr. Obama is making a brief stop
   in Alabama because he wants to witness the devastation for himself.
   Entire neighborhoods were destroyed in Tuscaloosa and at least 36
   people were killed, including two students at the University of
   Alabama.
   Alabama sustained most of the devastation from storms Wednesday -- with
   more than 200 dead.
   Mr. Obama signed a disaster declaration for Alabama late Thursday,
   making federal funds available to help residents, businesses and local
   governments in the recovery. About 2,000 National Guard soldiers have
   been deployed in the state to assist local emergency crews in the
   cleanup efforts.
   Mr. Obama on Thursday called the loss of life "heartbreaking," and
   described the aftermath as "nothing short of catastrophic." He promised
   the federal government will do everything it can to help the region
   recover.
   The death toll from storms this week includes more than 30 people each
   in Tennessee and Mississippi, and about a dozen each in Georgia and
   Arkansas. The other fatalities were spread across Virginia, Louisiana
   and Kentucky. It was the deadliest tornado outbreak in the United
   States since 310 people were killed on April 3, 1974.
   The tornadoes flattened entire neighborhoods, left streets filled with
   debris, flipped over cars and knocked down trees and power lines,
   leaving an estimated 1 million people without power.
   Emergency crews were searching the debris for survivors. Some residents
   said they barely escaped the destructive winds by sheltering in
   bathtubs, closets and basements.
   Forecasters received reports of at least 160 tornadoes hitting the
   region by Wednesday night, some of them thought to be as wide as 1.6
   kilometers.
   The tornadoes were the second in a wave of severe weather to affect the
   southern United States this month. A series of storms in early April
   killed at least 45 people in the region.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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