Tragedy

Tornadoes Kill Over 290 People

Obama heads to Alabama Friday.

President Obama will travel to Alabama on Friday following the deadliest tornadoes there in almost 40 years. He will then travel to Florida later Friday to watch the space shuttle launch. Dozens of tornadoes tore through the South, killing at least 290 people across six states, including at least 194 dead in Alabama alone. The governors of Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia all issued emergency declarations in parts of their states. The storm spread destruction as far north as New York, where dozens of roads were flooded. There was an emergency event at the Browns Ferry nuclear power plant, about 30 miles outside of Huntsville, Alabama. The plant lost outside power and had to use seven diesel generators to power the plant’s three units, though the emergency event was classified at the lowest of four levels. The deadliest known tornado outbreak was in 1925, when 747 people were killed in the famous Tri-State tornado, which affected parts of Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana.