Best info on the Tornado Swarm

Jeff Masters' WunderBlog is a key source of information on any current weather events:

A stunning tornado outbreak of incredible violence has left at least 202 dead across the Eastern U.S.; injuries probably number over a thousand, with 600 injured in the town of Tuscaloosa alone. The tornadoes carved huge swaths of damage, completely flattening large sections of many towns, and damage from the storms is likely to be the greatest in history for any tornado outbreak. Hardest hit was Alabama, with at least 149 dead...

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News:

Emergency agencies:

Tornado Relief:

  • The best place to donate is probably the American Red Cross. At this moment, their web site does not seem to be aware of the tornadoes, but they are in fact on the scene working now.

Videos:

Tuscaloosa Tornado

Empire, Alabama

Ringgold Georgia

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Greg,

Greetings from the giant pile of rubble formerly known as Tuscaloosa.

I'm a long-time regular reader of your blog. I also post comments here occasionally, but I don't know whether I've commented quite frequently enough (or brilliantly enough) that you'd immediately recognize my name (Emory Kimbrough, aka Emory K. or emoryk).

I just wanted to thank you for using your blog to call attention to the situation in Tuscaloosa, and for linking to the Red Cross as an effective way to donate for relief.

My thanks are coming a few days late because internet service was, of course, knocked out.

I'm alive, by a margin of a few hundred yards. I was driving to perform magic at a restaurant where I've been appearing weekly for the past sixteen years. I was headed south on U.S. 82, the main street through the city, when I rounded a curve and found myself looking UP, not out, at a giant dark rotating wall filling the sky. I was northeast of the tornado - that's the participatory side of a tornado - so I did a U-turn and retreated about a mile. The tornado passed about two blocks south of the restaurant.

I also have some credentials as a photographer with magazine sales, and I was able to get access to some of the hardest hit areas. I have numerous pictures varying from astounding to absurd to heartbreaking. I also have some photos of the truly inspiring relief effort. If you would like a few pictures for the blog, perhaps as another reminder to donate to the Red Cross, please let me know.

Emory

By Emory Kimbrough (not verified) on 01 May 2011 #permalink