World Today

Tornadoes Rip Homes and Lives Apart in
Alabama and Georgia

Aired April 9, 1998 - 8:00 p.m. ET 

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT
BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. 

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Martin Savidge
in Jefferson County, Alabama, where it is now nearly 24
hours after the storm and residents here are in a state of
shock. The tornado that ripped through this state is estimated
to have been one mile wide and packed winds of 250 miles an
hour. It was a night that claimed 32 lives in Alabama, and
President Clinton has declared the region a major disaster
area. 

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) 

(voice over): Rescue crews are still frantically searching the
rubble for survivors. What they're finding are more bodies.
Tiny communities just outside Birmingham, Alabama, are
hit the hardest. Dozens are killed, more than 100 hurt. Folks
here knew the bad weather was coming. They'd heard the
warnings and taken cover, but the intensity caught them off
guard. 

UNIDENTIFIED MALE #1: I heard a loud noise. Me and my
wife ran downstairs, the kids already down there, and we got
on the floor. And somebody opened the door, I told them get
away from the door and shut the door. And then all of a
sudden rain start falling on me, and I looked up in the air and
the whole top floor was gone off the house. 

SAVIDGE: In just minutes, the storm had ripped a one-mile
path of destruction through the area. Houses are demolished;
cars piled on top of each other, and everywhere, trees are
uprooted and power lines down. 

UNIDENTIFIED MALE #2: I've never seen anything like
this. It's overwhelming. You know, there's miracle stories
here, as well as injuries. There's some people -- I just talked
to Finley Salter (ph) -- part of our church -- a man that
crawled out of the rubble. You should have seen what he
called out from under. It's unbelievable that he could get out
of that house alive. 

SAVIDGE: Governor Fob James immediately ordered in the
National Guard to help with security and cleanup. He's
declared a state of emergency and he has asked the federal
government for help. 

GOV. FOB JAMES, ALABAMA: It's a tragedy of tragedies
to the people that had been hurt, harmed or lost loved ones, I
would say to you that you're in our hearts, you're in our
prayers. 

(END VIDEOTAPE) 

SAVIDGE: Vice president Al Gore plans to tour this part of
Alabama tomorrow. He's also expected to be joined by
FEMA director, that's the Federal Emergency Management
Agency director James Lee Witt. From here, they will move
on to nearby Georgia, where 11 people were killed by the
deadly storms. 

And CNN's Paul Caron has more on that. 

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) 

PAUL CARON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over):
Just weeks after one killer tornado, Georgia residents are
reeling from another round of killer winds. High winds tore
through parts of Ft. Stewart, Georgia, killing a soldier from
the base. 

UNIDENTIFIED MALE #1: It's mind boggling to see the
destruction and the power of the winds -- what it can do is
pick mobile homes up and cars and just pitch them like toys. 

CARON: A woman and a 13-year-old girl were killed in a
mobile home community south of Ft. Stewart, where a
possible tornado tap danced a path of destruction in three
different places near Savannah. The storms earlier pounded
Atlanta's northern suburbs and Hall County, rebuilding from
a killer tornado that plowed through here just weeks ago. 

GOV ZELL MILLER, GEORGIA: We had some warning
last night. It was a lot better as far as the warning than what
we had in Hall County, and White County a few weeks ago.
But yes, it's terrible. Because when you lose your home and
you lose everything that you worked for, there is nothing
worse than that. 

CARON (on camera): The storm blasted into the north
Atlanta residential town of Dunwoody. Some residents went
to sleep, believing the worst of the weather was over. They
woke up to the sounds of trees crashing through their roofs. 

UNIDENTIFIED MALE #2: I heard a thunder that was
continuous, that sounded like you were right in the middle of
it, and then the next thing you know -- that's what woke us
up. 

CARON (voice-over): Frank and Betty Jean Bentley heard
the rumbling, too. 

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE #1: We started to run down the
stairs, as the trees started to come in the house, and I could
hear timbers breaking. And it all -- it seemed like a long
time at the time, but it was only -- a minute. 

CARON: The bedroom they were sleeping in soon had its
walls torn out. Damage is estimated in the tens of millions of
dollars in Georgia; some residents have seen enough of this
for one spring. 

Paul Caron, CNN, Dunwoody, Georgia. 

(END VIDEOTAPE) 

SAVIDGE: Throughout this day in both states, we have been
hearing incredible stories of survival. Listen to this one from
a man in Doraville, Georgia. All that is left of his house is
the front wall. 

We get this report from CNN affiliate WSB and reporter
Diana Davis. 

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) 

GARY ROBINSON, TORNADO VICTIM: There wasn't
enough time to grab my glasses. I think if I were to try to
grab my glasses, I probably would have been killed. 

DIANA DAVIS, WSB REPORTER (voice-over): It took
only a matter of seconds. Gary Robinson's home is gone. He
and his wife lay sleeping, they awoke to a terrifying roar.
This is all that remains of their bedroom -- sheet rock --
the roof came crashing down. Gary and his wife ran for their
lives. 

ROBINSON: I followed her down. As I was going down I
felt a force just sucking me out of the house, and I just
dropped down on my knees and raced into the downstairs
bathroom with Ellen (ph), and we stayed down. There it was
so much noise. It seemed like forever, but it was only a
couple of minutes. 

DAVIS: The kitchen, living room, bedrooms -- all gone.
The Robinson's had planned on celebrating Passover with
friends and family. Now the china sitting on the dining room
table is all that's left. Still, Gary Robinson told me he
considers himself a lucky man. 

ROBINSON: Me and Ellen are here, that's all I care about.
The house will get rebuilt. 

DAVIS: Robinson is a volunteer Alpharetta firefighter, and
just weeks ago, he was on the scene of the devastation in Hall
County. Now his home is in ruins. But as the sun rose, fellow
Alpharetta firefighters were here for Gary, cleaning up the
mess and giving comfort. 

PHIL BURTON, FIRE CAPTAIN, ALPHARETTA,
GEORGIA: When it happened last night, the phone calls
went out, people began to mobilize and all we had to do
towards the end was start turning people down, because
everybody wanted to be out here to help. 

DAVIS: This is Gary's 52nd birthday. As you can imagine,
he says it is one he will never forget. 

ROBINSON: I was scared. I was very scared and I was doing
a lot of crying. 

(END VIDEOTAPE) 

SAVIDGE: Now, that was Diana Davis of CNN affiliate
from Atlanta. We've all heard of what is called tornado
alley, it is that region that stretches from Texas through
Oklahoma, through Kansas and Nebraska. More tornadoes hit
there than anywhere else in this nation. 

But more people are killed by the tornadoes that roar through
Dixie. On the nationally average in one year, usually about
82 people are killed. Already, this year, the death toll is
approaching 100. 

And CNN's John Zarrella says it could get worse. 

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) 

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT
(voice-over): The tornadoes that swept through Alabama are
the deadliest to hit the state in more than 60 years, and
already this year there have been more tornado fatalities
nationwide than in any entire year since 1984. And the
experts say the worst may still be ahead. 

JOE SCHAFFER, SEVERE STORMS FORECAST
CENTER, NORMAN, OKLAHOMA: What happens is the
storm activity, the tornado activity, peaks out in mid-April
through May. So even if it starts early, history tells us the
strongest part of tornado season is still coming. 

ZARRELLA: Schaffer doesn't believe the Alabama
tornadoes were created or enhanced by El Nino. 

(on camera): That's because, historically, April is always the
worst month for tornadoes in the South. And researchers say
the entire Southeast remains at risk. 

TERRY FABER, WEATHER RESEARCHER: We've
typically seen in April most of the effects in Florida from
severe weather. So this month in Florida certainly is going to
be something you have to be careful for. The situation is still
very favorable for severe weather across the Southeast. 

ZARRELLA: And, forecasters worry that in the Southeast a
frightening pattern is emerging. Many of the deadliest
tornadoes, like the latest in Florida and Georgia occur
overnight or in the evening hours. 

SCHAFFER: Tornado activity, while it still has a strong bias
towards late afternoon, there's also many more storms that
occur from about 10:00 at night, to three or four o'clock in
the morning. 

ZARRELLA: Times when most people are asleep. That
wasn't quite the case in Alabama. At 6:26 p.m. Central time,
the first tornado warning was issued in western Alabama's
Pickens County, followed by warnings in Tuscaloosa,
Jefferson, St. Clair, Calhoun, and finally at 9:52 Central
Time, in Cleburne County in eastern Alabama. 

National Weather Service officials say the two hardest hit
communities, Oak Grove and Sylvan Springs, had between
15 and 20 minutes warning. But with a tornado of that
magnitude, even sufficient time may not have been enough to
save lives. 

John Zarrella, CNN, Miami. 

(END VIDEOTAPE) 

SAVIDGE: And at this hour, the Alabama National Guard
has begun the process of closing down the affected area to
protect against looting tonight. In the background you hear
the thunder of one of their giant helicopters. No doubt for
some a reminder of the thunder and the devastation that
rolled through this area just 24 hours ago. 



         

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