Residents in five Southern states tried to salvage what they could Wednesday from homes reduced to piles of debris, a day after the deadliest cluster of tornadoes in nearly a decade tore through the region, snapping trees and crumpling homes. At least 48 people were dead.
The dead included 24 people in Tennessee, 13 in Arkansas, and seven in Kentucky, NBC News said. Three were killed in Alabama, emergency officials said. Among the victims were Arkansas parents who died with their 11-year-old in Atkins, about 60 miles northwest of Little Rock.
The family died from trauma when their home “took a direct hit” from the storm, Pope County Coroner Leonard Krout said.
In many places, the storms struck as Super Tuesday primaries were ending. As the extent of the damage quickly became clear, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee paused in their victory speeches to remember the victims.
The president said he called the governors of Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee and assured them the administration stood ready to help and to deal with any emergency requests.
