Holly
03-02-2007, 10:18 AM
Eight Teens Die in Alabama High School
AOL Wire Services
ENTERPRISE, Ala. (March 2) - A violent storm system that ripped apart an Alabama high school as students hunkered inside later tore through Georgia, hitting a hospital and raising the death toll to at least 20 across the Midwest and Southeast.
Eight students were killed when a tornado struck Enterprise High School, blowing out the walls and collapsing part of the roof, Mayor Kenneth Boswell said Friday.
"They were in a one particular wing that took a direct hit," Boswell said of the victims. Boswell appeared drained as his staff and National Guard crews tried to assess the damage at dawn and search the torn-up neighborhoods for more victims.
"You take it methodically," Boswell said. "You prioritize, and you move on."
As the massive storm system swept into Georgia, another tornado apparently touched down near the Sumter Regional Hospital in Americus, 117 miles south of Atlanta, killing at least two people and injuring an undetermined number of others, said Buzz Weiss of the Georgia Emergency Management Agency. At least 42 patients were evacuate to Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany, Putney spokeswoman Jackie Ryan said.
Six more people were killed in the town of Newton, Ga., and several homes were destroyed, Fire Chief Andy Belinc said early Friday.
The burst of tornadoes was part of a larger line of thunderstorms and snowstorms that stretched from Minnesota to the Gulf Coast. Authorities blamed a tornado for the death of a 7-year-old girl in Missouri, 10 people in Alabama, nine in Georgia, and twisters also damaged homes in Kansas.
Inside Enterprise High School, officials had been watching the storm Thursday as it swept through southern Missouri, killing a 7-year-old girl there, and headed into Alabama. The students were preparing to leave when the sirens started up and the lights went out.
Teacher Grannison Wagstaff was with them.
http://news.aol.com/topnews/articles/_a/tornadoes-leave-path-of-destruction/20070301131909990001
AOL Wire Services
ENTERPRISE, Ala. (March 2) - A violent storm system that ripped apart an Alabama high school as students hunkered inside later tore through Georgia, hitting a hospital and raising the death toll to at least 20 across the Midwest and Southeast.
Eight students were killed when a tornado struck Enterprise High School, blowing out the walls and collapsing part of the roof, Mayor Kenneth Boswell said Friday.
"They were in a one particular wing that took a direct hit," Boswell said of the victims. Boswell appeared drained as his staff and National Guard crews tried to assess the damage at dawn and search the torn-up neighborhoods for more victims.
"You take it methodically," Boswell said. "You prioritize, and you move on."
As the massive storm system swept into Georgia, another tornado apparently touched down near the Sumter Regional Hospital in Americus, 117 miles south of Atlanta, killing at least two people and injuring an undetermined number of others, said Buzz Weiss of the Georgia Emergency Management Agency. At least 42 patients were evacuate to Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany, Putney spokeswoman Jackie Ryan said.
Six more people were killed in the town of Newton, Ga., and several homes were destroyed, Fire Chief Andy Belinc said early Friday.
The burst of tornadoes was part of a larger line of thunderstorms and snowstorms that stretched from Minnesota to the Gulf Coast. Authorities blamed a tornado for the death of a 7-year-old girl in Missouri, 10 people in Alabama, nine in Georgia, and twisters also damaged homes in Kansas.
Inside Enterprise High School, officials had been watching the storm Thursday as it swept through southern Missouri, killing a 7-year-old girl there, and headed into Alabama. The students were preparing to leave when the sirens started up and the lights went out.
Teacher Grannison Wagstaff was with them.
http://news.aol.com/topnews/articles/_a/tornadoes-leave-path-of-destruction/20070301131909990001