Tornadoes toll rises over 350 with thousands homeless

[Viva_La_Revolution]

Source: Reuters

The death toll from the second deadliest tornado outbreak on record rose above 350 on Saturday as thousands of stunned survivors camped out in the shattered shells of their homes or moved into shelters or with friends.

With some estimates putting the number of homes and buildings destroyed close to 10,000, state and federal authorities in the U.S. South were still coming to terms with the scale of the devastation from the country's worst natural catastrophe since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

One disaster risk modeler, EQECAT, is forecasting insured property losses of between $2 billion and $5 billion from the havoc inflicted by the swarm of violent twisters that gouged through seven southern states this week.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/30/us-usa-weather-idUSTRE73S3Q320110430

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. And they were predicting a possible great cell

for next week AGAIN.

What is it about global weather change and models of storms?

[ananda]

2. More frequent, more intense.

nt

[Ex Lurker]

13. I have to tell you, today it's warm and muggy, with a steady south wind

just like early last week. We had several days of weather like this, then the outbreak.

[Kurovski]

3. Everyone in Tornado-prone areas: please have a plan, and be ready.

Be safe. This includes me!

http://www.fema.gov/hazard/tornado/index.shtm

Heloooo, Vivala, you storm cell of love! :*

[Ex Lurker]

14. Absolutely vital to have a plan. But, if you're in the path of an EF5

there's not much you can do except be underground. And in many parts of the country, underground shelters aren't practical because of high water tables.

[Lars39]

18. Also, they think some people are trapped in their underground shelters

because of the debris on top of them. :(

[Kurovski]

21. that's still better than being shredded and hung on a tree ten blocks over?

I know, it's truly horrible. :(

[Lars39]

22. I guess it might depend on how the shelter was made(airflow),

and what you had stocked in there. :(

[Kurovski]

26. Always bring the cell phone. although I imagine that gets knocked out

when all is flattened. Still, take it with.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

19. I need a 'swoon' smilie

just for you.
:)

[Kurovski]

20. Oh, stop!

(sometime in forty years or so...) :hug:

[AlbertCat]

23. Tornado-prone areas:

That would be everywhere. Tornados happen all over the Earth. (unlike Hurricanes)

But of course the great plains tend to have a more "reliable" set up for producing the storms.

[madrchsod]

4. gee where`s the money coming from to rebuild the south?

[Kurovski]

5. Bootstrap sales are through the roof.

[Faygo Kid]

6. +1

[jwirr]

8. From the North as usual.

:evilgrin:

[kestrel91316]

9. It's coming from us SOSHALISTS!!!

[Ex Lurker]

15. a lot of the victims were middle class college kids

maybe this will be a wakeup call to the GOP voting middle class in that part of the country.

[AlbertCat]

24. gee where`s the money coming from to rebuild the south?

And why does god hate the South and Heartland so much?

[NCarolinawoman]

25. The money is in Afghanistan.

Last I heard, 2 billion a month was being poured into that country for infrastructure.

[antigone382]

27. Maybe it can come from under the destroyed homes of the people I know and love.

But I'm glad that death, suffering, and massive destruction across a wide area and affecting a diverse range of people offers such a prime opportunity for political gloating and cheap shots.

[lunatica]

7. The deaths and flooding in New Orleans were man made for crying out loud!

Why do journalists insist on saying that Katrina caused the horrible flooding in New Orleans?! IT was the fucking man-made levees that the Army Corp of Engineers built, yet managed to not upkeep that broke and caused the flooding! Damn!

The tornado destruction is completely due to the tornadoes.

[kestrel91316]

10. The levees broke BECAUSE of Katrina. They didn't just randomly break one

day all on their own.

[lunatica]

11. They broke because they were weak due to human fault and neglect

Levees break when their foundation is washed away. That was the case in New Orleans. Eventually the levee would have broken even without a hurricane.

[Citizen Worker]

12. Expect a whopping increase in medical insurance premiums to make up for the tornado losses.

[RebelOne]

17. Not just medical insurance but home insurance.

There are millions of property losses.

[Uncle Joe]

16. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Viva_La_Revolution.

[defendandprotect]

28. This is Global Warming -- Americans must wake up on this issue --

and it includes increasing numbers of earthquakes and increasing intensity --

We have 106 nuclear reactors -- about two in every state -- in the US --

it takes approximately 6 months to properly shut them down.


Also note that earthquakes also generate more volcanic activity.