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Communities clean up after deadly storms
MOSSY GROVE, Tennessee (CNN) -- Communities across the South and Great Lakes regions were picking up the pieces Tuesday from the 70 deadly tornadoes that left at least 36 people dead and dozens more injured Sunday and early Monday. "It's no time for tears," said Steve Beck, who runs Dedicated Fleet trucking business in Van Wert, Ohio. "It's time to rebuild." Government officials were assessing damage and pursuing disaster assistance. Aid workers set up shop, and homeowners and businesspeople dialed insurance companies to get the recovery ball rolling. "We have multiple states affected. We've got hundreds of volunteers to provide assistance," said Scott Davis of the American Red Cross, who is stationed in the tiny eastern Tennessee hamlet of Mossy Grove, hit badly by a tornado. "We're providing hot meals and we're providing refreshments. The important thing is we're providing a shoulder to lean on so they can tell their story." Most of those killed were in Tennessee, where 17 people died; 12 died in Alabama, five in Ohio, one in Pennsylvania and one in Mississippi. TennesseeIn Mossy Grove, one woman remained unaccounted, an emergency official said. Officials know only that the woman's last name is Haines. As many as 150 people were missing at one point, but they were located after their names were read on the radio and search teams going through the wreckage found them, according to Steve Hamby, director of emergency management in Morgan County. A mile-wide tornado plowed through Mossy Grove and nearby Joyner on Sunday night, killing eight people. Four of the dead were in a car trying to outrun the storm when the tornado tossed their vehicle. Another was a volunteer firefighter who rushed to the scene from neighboring Anderson County and suffered a heart attack. Hamby said he thought more than 60 families in the Mossy Grove and Joyner areas lost their homes. He said many people out of their homes were staying with friends and family. Others were at a shelter set up in the community center in the county seat of Wartburg. Officials said about 35 percent to 40 percent of the structures in the Mossy Grove-Joyner area were damaged or destroyed. "We've been hit hard," said Tennessee Gov. Don Sundquist, who toured the region Tuesday. More than 80 people were injured in the storm throughout the state. On the wet grass on a rural road lay a television remote control, prescription bottles and family photographs. Amid the destruction in the county were remarkable stories of survival. At New Life Apostolic Church in Mossy Grove, about 80 people were inside for Sunday night services when the building began to shake. Part of the roof collapsed and glass shattered, but no one was injured. "We were just praying like we had never prayed before," said Kevin Davis, a member of the congregation. "God kept his hand on us." OhioIn northwest Ohio, there was vivid evidence of the devastation that might have been. Rows of plush blue seats were all that remained of the movie theater in the town of Van Wert, where dozens of people were watching a film minutes before the tornado hit with winds topping 207 mph.
"All heck broke loose," said Scott Shaffer, who manages the theater and evacuated the patrons to the cinema's cinder-block interior. Some told of crowding inside the women's restroom for cover. "It was all confusion and chaos. I never want to experience that again," Shaffer said. "I'm still confused for words." The town's mayor said an early warning system gave residents enough time to find safety. "I'm telling you today, there are 70 people alive, at least in Van Wert County, that wouldn't have been had that system not been put in place," Mayor Steven Gehres said. Ohio Gov. Bob Taft has declared disaster areas in Van Wert, Ottawa, Seneca and Paulding counties. One in five Ohio counties suffered some kind of damage from the storms, said Dick Kimmins of the state's Emergency Management Agency. In all, 109 homes and other buildings were destroyed and more than 1,000 other structures were damaged, he said. In Van Wert, Ethan Burke said he was in the cab of a tractor trailer when the tornado approached. He said he thought he was in the "Wizard of Oz" but miraculously walked away with a few cuts. The storm "grabbed the trailer and started dragging us backwards, and then it just started in a circular motion. And I just grabbed a hold of the shoulder harness and crossed it across both of my arms and closed my eyes." Alabama
Alabama officials credited early warnings and watches for saving lives in their state. Still, the storms left 12 people dead -- 10 of them in Walker County, northwest of Birmingham. "It's like somebody wrapped up sticks of dynamite and just blew these homes into little tiny pieces," said Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman on a tour of Walker County. Siegelman declared a state of emergency across Alabama and said officials with the Federal Emergency Management Agency would be heading to the state Tuesday. In Walker County, Carbon Hill Junior High was one of many buildings badly damaged in the storm. That the storm struck on a Sunday, when school was not in session, was a blessing, the governor said. "There's always a silver lining on any dark cloud," Siegelman said. (More on Carbon Hill) Mississippi, Pennsylvania, KentuckyIn Mississippi's Lowndes County, a man was killed Sunday night when storms swept through the area, an official said. Fifty-five people were injured, 60 homes were damaged or destroyed and 10 businesses were destroyed in the county, which borders Alabama. The storm slammed the Mississippi University for Women, destroying the gymnasium and two dorms and damaging the student union building, the official said. Officials in northwestern Pennsylvania said one person was killed and others injured as storms passed through Mercer County. In Pennsylvania, 127 homes and one business suffered damage, said Maria Smith, a spokeswoman for the state's emergency management agency. The strong winds destroyed 12 homes and two businesses, she said. Severe storms also roared through McCreary County in southeastern Kentucky. In Pine Knot, about 15 miles west of Williamsburg, part of the roof was torn from East Tabernacle Church, according to Lt. Stephen Dilreath of the McCreary County Fire Department. The storms puzzled scientists because tornadoes rarely touch down in the South at this time of year.
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