At least 27 killed in South, Midwest

By KRISTIN M. HALL

The Associated Press

NEWBERN, Tenn. -- Homes were shredded to their foundations in zigzagging lines of destruction that stretched for miles as wicked thunderstorms crashed across eight states, spinning off tornadoes, spitting out hail and killing at least 27 people.

The worst damage from Sunday night's storms occurred along a 25-mile path through rural western Tennessee, where raging wind tore off roofs, shattered buildings into splinters and knocked down solid brick homes.

"Most of the houses, you can't count. They're just gone," said Roy Childress, who was part of a church relief crew that was delivering food and water to survivors Monday.

The brunt of the storms, some packing softball-sized hail, blasted an area between the small town of Newbern, about 80 miles northeast of Memphis, to Bradford. Twenty-three people were killed, including an infant and the grandparents who had been babysitting him. A family of four was also killed.

"I just feel lost. I've been numb ever since last night," said Diane Wyrick, who lost the mobile home she had lived in since 1973. "I lost, but at least I didn't lose my life and that's a lot."

State police sent teams with search dogs to the area Monday to check what remained of damaged homes and businesses for anyone who might be trapped in the rubble. Many neighborhoods were blocked off to reporters.

Betty Sisk grabbed her son and daughter, ages 10 and 13, and took cover in a closet until the twister blew their house apart and threw them into the yard.

"By the time the sirens started going off, it was at our back door," Sisk said Monday. "I didn't hear a train sound, I heard a roaring."

Nothing remained of the family's wood-frame home Monday but the concrete steps. A nearby house was destroyed and Sisk said she had been told the elderly couple who lived there were dead. Another neighbor's home was blown about 30 feet off its foundation.

Another nearby house was also destroyed, killing an older couple and their 11-month-old grandson.

Officials estimated 1,200 buildings were damaged in Gibson County, where eight people were killed and 17 others hospitalized in critical condition, according to the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency.

Gov. Phil Bredesen asked President Bush to declare Dyer and Gibson counties federal disaster areas.

"Our first priority is helping those impacted to get back on their feet quickly and to bring back a sense of normalcy at a time when they need it most," said Bredesen, who planned to visit the area Tuesday.

The Tennessee Valley Authority estimated that more than 15,000 customers were without power at midday Monday.

Severe storms also struck parts of Iowa, Kentucky, Arkansas, Missouri, Ohio, Illinois and Indiana. Strong winds were blamed for at least three deaths in Missouri. A clothing store collapsed in southern Illinois, killing one man.

The weather service's Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., said it had preliminary reports of 63 tornadoes.

About a half-dozen tornadoes struck Arkansas and one destroyed nearly half of the town of Marmaduke, according to a fire department official.

"Almost every single structure in Marmaduke has minor to moderate damage but almost 50 percent of it is totally destroyed," Franks said. Much of the town also was damaged by a tornado in 1997.

Hail 4 inches in diameter slammed right through the roof of one mobile home in Arkansas, weather service meteorologist Newton Skiles said.

About 30 miles from Newbern, a tornado caused extensive damage to the southeast Missouri city of Caruthersville, although Mayor Diane Sayre said there were no known deaths in the city of 6,700.

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On the Net:

Storm Prediction Center: http://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/