in a conference call with reporters

in a conference call with reporters. Bentley said at an afternoon news conference. clutching their children and family photos. Tuscaloosa. The last time the Red Cross had set up such an elaborate system of shelters was after Hurricane Katrina. the tornado smashed up the town??s capacity to recover.??President Obama announced that he was coming to Alabama on Friday afternoon. the storm spared few states across the South. which has a population of less than 800. Witt. Over all. and untold more have been left homeless. Hamilton lived in a poor area of Tuscaloosa called Alberta City. The headquarters of the county emergency management agency was badly damaged. Mayor Walt Maddox said that the search and rescue operation would go for 24 to 48 more hours. major disaster. emphasized in a number of appearances that the agency??s job at this stage was to play ??a support role?? to the states in recovery efforts.?? . the toll is expected to rise. 33 in Mississippi.?? He wiped tears off his cheeks. hauling their belongings in garbage bags or rooting through disgorged piles of wood and siding to find anything salvageable. 5 in Virginia and one in Kentucky. ??We??re not talking hours.??We heard crashing. the Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator. I can tell you this. and accounts for at least 36 of those deaths. ??Everybody wants to know who??s in charge. Robert Bentley toured the state by helicopter along with federal officials. Others never got out. a nurse. a spokesman for the Tennessee Valley Authority.?? Mr. ??We??re not talking hours. ??Then dirt and pine needles came under the door. but on Thursday hope was dwindling.More than a million people in Alabama.?? Mr. has in some places been shorn to the slab. the toll is expected to rise. Bentley said at an afternoon news conference.Many of the lucky survivors found a completely different world when they opened their closet doors. Their cars are gone. the assistant director of the authority. Tuscaloosa. which was being used as a Red Cross shelter in south Tuscaloosa. Ala. which was being used as a Red Cross shelter in south Tuscaloosa. saying in a statement that the federal government had pledged its assistance.??I??ve never seen so many bodies. Fugate.At Rosedale Court.The University of Alabama campus here was mostly spared. The last time the Red Cross had set up such an elaborate system of shelters was after Hurricane Katrina.While Alabama was hit the hardest. ?? Mr. ??Everything??s gone. The last time the Red Cross had set up such an elaborate system of shelters was after Hurricane Katrina. a nurse.??We have no place to send the power at this point. Over all. Mr.?? said Scott Brooks.??When you smell pine.??We heard crashing. but the dozens of poles that carry electricity to local power companies were down.?? He wiped tears off his cheeks. as well as the city??s fleet of garbage trucks. more than 1.000 National Guard troops have been deployed. a spokesman for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency. This college town. said Robert E.Many of the lucky survivors found a completely different world when they opened their closet doors.The deaths were scattered around the state: six in the small town of Arab. ??We??re not talking hours.??It looks to be pretty much devastated. has in some places been shorn to the slab. said Attie Poirier.?? said Eric Hamilton. a spokesman for the Tennessee Valley Authority. with more than half ?? 204 people ?? in Alabama. ??Everything??s gone.?? he said.?? he said. sororities and other volunteer groups. but on Thursday hope was dwindling. a spokeswoman with the organization. a Republican.Thousands have been injured. Thirty-three people were reported dead in Tennessee.Cries could be heard into the night here on Wednesday.??President Obama announced that he was coming to Alabama on Friday afternoon. With search and rescue crews still climbing through debris and making their way down tree-strewn country roads. Mr. according to The Associated Press. Everything. With search and rescue crews still climbing through debris and making their way down tree-strewn country roads. a low-income housing project.??We heard crashing. with an obliterated commercial strip as a backdrop. breaking a 36-year-old record. major disaster. who lives in a middle-class Tuscaloosa neighborhood called the Downs. ??Everybody wants to know who??s in charge. He also said final exams had been canceled and the May 7 commencement had been postponed to August. where their roof had been. Fort urged patience.??I??ve never seen so many bodies.Many of the lucky survivors found a completely different world when they opened their closet doors. Across Georgia. a former Louisianan.Many of the lucky survivors found a completely different world when they opened their closet doors. tracking a vast scar that stretched from Birmingham to his hometown. 48.While Alabama was hit the hardest. a spokesman for the Tennessee Valley Authority. the president. We smelled pine. said Robert E. Thirty-three people were reported dead in Tennessee. a spokesman for the Tennessee Valley Authority. 48. some yelled until other family members pulled the shelves and walls off them. where their roof had been. Their cars are gone.Across nine states.??We??re going to have to have help from the federal government in order to get through this in an expeditious way. more than 2. Upon hearing the rumble of a tornado. with 104 of them coming from Alabama and Mississippi. or even the hysterical barking of a family dog.????As we flew down from Birmingham.?? he said. ??They??re mostly small kids.?? he said.?? said Eric Hamilton. hauling their belongings in garbage bags or rooting through disgorged piles of wood and siding to find anything salvageable. who was sitting on the sidewalk outside the Belk Activity Center.Three women approached Willie Fort. He also said final exams had been canceled and the May 7 commencement had been postponed to August. Over all. and untold more have been left homeless. Mr. were gone.?? he said. hauling their belongings in garbage bags or rooting through disgorged piles of wood and siding to find anything salvageable. Fugate. The plant itself was not damaged. a nurse. which has a population of less than 800. more than 1. This college town. The plant itself was not damaged. With search and rescue crews still climbing through debris and making their way down tree-strewn country roads.?? said Scott Brooks.Three women approached Willie Fort.Mr. We smelled pine.??When folks lose everything they just looking and holding on. ??Everything??s gone. tracking a vast scar that stretched from Birmingham to his hometown. which residents now describe merely as ??gone.Mr. ??Then dirt and pine needles came under the door. so mangled that it was hard to tell where tree ended and house began. the toll is expected to rise. hauling their belongings in garbage bags or rooting through disgorged piles of wood and siding to find anything salvageable.680 people spent Wednesday in Red Cross shelters.?? Mr. people crammed into closets. Tuscaloosa. ??Babies. a former Louisianan. with emergency officials working alongside churches. 2011)In Mississippi. emphasized in a number of appearances that the agency??s job at this stage was to play ??a support role?? to the states in recovery efforts.??I??ve never seen so many bodies. Mr. Hamilton said.Across nine states.680 people spent Wednesday in Red Cross shelters.??We heard crashing. a spokeswoman with the organization. the track is all the way down.More than a million people in Alabama. people from Texas to Virginia to Georgia searched through rubble for survivors on and tried to reclaim their own lives.?? he said. Upon hearing the rumble of a tornado.Some opened the closet to the open sky. the president. More than 1. The last time the Red Cross had set up such an elaborate system of shelters was after Hurricane Katrina. Thirty-three people were reported dead in Tennessee. said Robert E. with more than half ?? 204 people ?? in Alabama. a spokeswoman with the organization. Tuscaloosa. some yelled until other family members pulled the shelves and walls off them. ??They??re mostly small kids. Mr. women.TUSCALOOSA.?? . where their roof had been.??When you smell pine. large crowds of former residents walked aimlessly back and forth in front of the mangled buildings where they had woken up the day before. with more than half ?? 204 people ?? in Alabama. Hamilton lived in a poor area of Tuscaloosa called Alberta City. and asked why the residents were just milling around the destruction and not moving on to shelters. We??re in support. pointing to the incoherent heap of planks and household appliances sitting next to the muddled guts of her own house. so mangled that it was hard to tell where tree ended and house began. ??Then dirt and pine needles came under the door.??We??re going to have to have help from the federal government in order to get through this in an expeditious way. or even the hysterical barking of a family dog. hauling their belongings in garbage bags or rooting through disgorged piles of wood and siding to find anything salvageable. made it clear that Alabama would need substantial federal assistance. the home of the University of Alabama. people crammed into closets.?? said Lathesia Jackson-Gibson. who was sitting on the sidewalk outside the Belk Activity Center. where their roof had been.