Line of Tornadoes Rumbles Through South, Killing More Than Two Dozen By Duncan Mansfield Associated Press Writer

Published: Nov 11, 2002

WARTBURG, Tenn. (AP) - Emergency crews searched for survivors early Monday amid the wreckage from a series of pulverizing tornadoes that barreled through Alabama, Tennessee and Ohio, killing at least 27 people and injuring more than 100.

A wide band of storms stretched from Louisiana to Ohio, with Tennessee and Alabama the hardest hit. The death toll included 12 in Tennessee, 10 in Alabama and five in Ohio, while 45 people were unaccounted for in the rural town of Mossy Grove, officials said.

A tornado cut a swath five to six miles long just before 9 p.m. Sunday, killing seven people in the town about 40 miles west of Knoxville. Emergency crews relied on ham radio operators for communication since phone lines were knocked out by the storm.

Authorities were kept away from assessing much of the damage because toppled trees and power lines were blocking roadways, and they feared the death toll would rise as daybreak revealed the extent of the devastation.

"It's mass destruction, death," said Ken Morgan, an officer in nearby Oliver Springs. "Mossy Grove is destroyed."

Carbon Hill, Ala., was in a similar situation as a nighttime swarm of tornadoes and powerful thunderstorms belted the area and sent giant hardwood trees crashing down on small houses and mobile homes.

"I reckon about a third of the town is gone," said Terry Murray, part of a tree crew surveying the extent of the damage.

The tornadoes flattened dozens of homes throughout the region and left tens of thousands without power. Winds hit an estimated 140 mph in Tennessee and the storms carried torrential rain and golf-ball-sized hail.

Unseasonably high temperatures Sunday in the 80s, followed by a cold front, made conditions ripe for tornadoes, which are not unusual this time of year, said Gene Rench, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Memphis.

The injured included at least 55 people in Tennessee, 50 in Alabama and in 21 Ohio, authorities said.

Several people died as they became trapped in cars and homes, while others frantically tried to escape the churning storms.

"I heard a roar. I saw a black wall," said Jon Cross, who was packing his cruiser to go to work as a State Highway Patrol trooper in Ohio when he saw the storm. "I could see everything spinning. It was coming right at me."

The storms cut a 100-mile swath through northwest Ohio farmland, doing serious damage to the town of Van Wert. Gov. Bob Taft declared a state of emergency Sunday night in Van Wert and Ottawa counties, but the storms caused problems around the state.

"It pulled everything off, set it down, then threw it in a field," said Brian Farris of Van Wert, who watched a tornado touch down and level a house. "It was on the ground at least a mile."

In Alabama, nine people died in Walker County as a line of thunderstorms packing high winds and spinning off tornadoes rolled through the northern part of the state, said Walker County Deputy Coroner Bob Green.

Another person died in Cherokee County near the Georgia line, said Beverly Daniel, assistant director for emergency management services.

Green was at the scene where the bodies of two women were found: "They were laying down off the side (of a road)," he said. "It was bad, Carbon Hill had a bad time."

In Tennessee, the tornadoes came in two waves. Late Saturday and early Sunday, twisters skipped across western and middle Tennessee, killing three people. On Sunday night another line of storms crossed the state - this time south and east of Nashville.

Two people, including a 10-year-old boy, were killed and 15 people were injured in Coffee County when two mobile home parks, three houses and a church were damaged near Manchester on Sunday night, Sheriff Steve Graves said.

About an hour later, a tornado ripped through Mossy Grove, damaging at least a dozen houses, said Steven Hamby, director of the Morgan County emergency management center. The dead include a 4-month-old child.

"Apparently, it just dug a path," he said.

Hamby said since phone lines were down, some of the people reported missing might be OK, but have no way of letting others know that.

The Tennessee forecast for Monday called for party sunny skies and temperatures in the high 50s. "The rain is over for a while," Rench said.

-- Anonymous, November 11, 2002

Answers

Alabama twister kills at least 10; 50 injured

By JAY REEVES The Associated Press 11/11/02

CARBON HILL, Ala. (AP) -- A nighttime swarm of tornadoes and powerful thunderstorms belted Alabama, killing at least 10 people and injuring at least 50 others.

Officials feared the casualty toll would rise as daybreak revealed the extent of the devastation.

Walker County Deputy Coroner Bob Green said seven people were killed near Carbon Hill, where giant hardwood trees crashed down on small houses and mobile homes.

"I reckon about a third of the town is gone," said Terry Murray, part of a tree crew surveying the extent of the damage.

The smell of broken pine trees and oaks filled the early morning air as police stood watch outside the elementary school, where part of the roof was peeled away by the high winds and windows were blown out.

Green was at the scene where the bodies of two women were found beside a road.

"They were laying down off the side," he said. "It was bad. Carbon Hill had a bad time."

Besides the dead from Carbon Hill, located about 70 miles northwest of Birmingham, two more people died in western Walker County, he said.

A tenth person was killed in Cherokee County near the Georgia line, said Beverly Daniel, assistant director for emergency management services. Officials said at least five people in the county were seriously injured.

The National Weather Service reported at least a half-dozen tornadoes in Alabama. The twisters were part of an outbreak that killed more than two dozen people in Alabama, Tennessee and Ohio.

The tornado hit Carbon Hill about 7:15 p.m. Sunday. Numerous homes and several businesses were damaged.

Downed trees, power lines and sheet metal from mobile homes blocked roadways as emergency crews started the cleanup in the predawn hours. The sound of chainsaws was everywhere.

Randall Garrison's house was damaged, but it can be repaired. Some of his neighbors were not as fortunate.

"Two mobile homes beside us are gone," said Garrison, who was on his way home from a night worship service when the storm struck. "My two outbuildings are blown away. The house right beside me, it took off its foundation. I thank God he had me at church."

In neighboring Fayette County, at least 10 homes were destroyed and trees blocked roads, said Treasa Willcutt, emergency management director. She said witnesses reported that a tornado did the damage.

Patty Poe, a spokeswoman for Walker Baptist Medical Center, said 42 people from Walker and Winston were treated, and at least three patients in critical condition were sent to University Hospital in Birmingham.

An emergency room nurse at Fayette Medical Center said three patients were being treated there for minor injuries.

About 16,000 people were left without power in Fayette, Walker, Winston and Cullman counties, according to Alabama Power Co.

In the community of Fern Bank in neighboring Lamar County on the Mississippi line, Emergency Management Director Ralph Harrison said strong winds or possibly a tornado knocked trees onto cars and took out power lines. He said one house had its roof blown off.

In Autauga County, Emergency Management Director Randy Taylor said two homes and a business were damaged as the storm system moved through the central and southern part of the state early Monday.

Tornado advisories were still in effect for the central and southern part of the state early Monday.

-- Anonymous, November 11, 2002

We got lucky. There were tornado warnings all around us but none right here in Durham. There was heavy rain and high wind, but far as I know, no damage.

-- Anonymous, November 11, 2002

i don't envy y'all.

stay safe!!

getting humiditor here. rain maybe wed thur?

-- Anonymous, November 11, 2002

i don't envy y'all.

stay safe!!

getting more humiditor here. rain maybe wed thur?

-- Anonymous, November 11, 2002

Areas to the north of me were hit hard. That makes some sense because it's flat and open up there. Van Wert is nothing but level ground as far as the eye can see: corn, soy, and wheat farms abound.

There was marble-sized hail and high winds for around 15 minutes or so, which took off the remainder of the leaves. My lot catches all the debris from the wind, so I woke up to a yard filled with leaves from the neighbors' trees and a fair amount of papers and plastic bottles. It's a real mess. I've been clearing it about for an hour at a time. Trash is off now, and I've started on the leaves. They're soaked, or I'd just mulch 'em with the mower.

-- Anonymous, November 11, 2002

North of us, Marysville, OH, was hit harder than we were, too, though I spent quite a bit of time this morning cleaning up and raking.

-- Anonymous, November 11, 2002