Disasters Southern United States

With a yearlong drought showing no signs of letting up, federal officials on Monday declared West Virginia and parts of five neighboring states disaster areas. The damage was apparent here as Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman stood at the edge of a stunted cornfield producing sickly 3-inch ears. "Drought is like an insidious cancer," he said. "It's slow, it infects and it's harder to deal with as a disaster."

Leaving six people dead in Florida and hundreds of thousands without power, Hurricane Irene rumbled up the East Coast on Saturday, taking aim at flood-weary North Carolina. Residents there began all-too-familiar preparations for another onslaught while officials considered evacuations and warned that it wouldn't take much rain to push rivers in the eastern part of the state back above flood stages.

Southern governors voted Saturday to develop a regional compact to help each other deal with disasters such as Hurricane Andrew. The initiative, offered by Florida Democratic Gov. Lawton Chiles, said Southern states have a "special vulnerability to certain acts of nature" and noted that "the devastation often cripples the network of Southern infrastructure and commerce."

With a yearlong drought showing no signs of letting up, federal officials on Monday declared West Virginia and parts of five neighboring states disaster areas. The damage was apparent here as Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman stood at the edge of a stunted cornfield producing sickly 3-inch ears. "Drought is like an insidious cancer," he said. "It's slow, it infects and it's harder to deal with as a disaster."

Hurricane Lili and the remains of Tropical Storm Marco locked pincers on the South on Friday with a combination of powerful winds, heavy surf and drenching rains. At least 10 people have died in the storms. Lili lurked off the shore of North Carolina, a weakling among hurricanes, spinning harmless 8-foot waves into the Outer Banks. Its winds were clocked at 75 m.p.h.--barely over the hurricane threshold of 74 m.p.h.

Leaving six people dead in Florida and hundreds of thousands without power, Hurricane Irene rumbled up the East Coast on Saturday, taking aim at flood-weary North Carolina. Residents there began all-too-familiar preparations for another onslaught while officials considered evacuations and warned that it wouldn't take much rain to push rivers in the eastern part of the state back above flood stages.

People searched through debris and counted the cost Friday of tornadoes and storms that savaged Nashville and a series of Southern states, killing at least 11 people. Nashville Mayor Phil Bredesen was stunned by the damage he saw during an aerial tour. He was even more astounded that nobody was killed by the two tornadoes that ripped through the city the day before.

The death toll from the "Blizzard of '93" rose to 171 Monday as rescuers from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian Maritimes struggled with the aftermath of a storm of snow and ice that has been described as the worst this century. Several dramas continued that threatened to push the number of fatalities even higher.

Tornadoes swept across parts of the South on Thursday, ripping off roofs in downtown Nashville and splintering mobile homes in rural areas. At least 10 people were killed in the storms. No deaths were reported in Nashville, but heavy damage to buildings forced police to patrol downtown to prevent looting. Four people, including a young brother and sister, were killed before dawn by tornadoes in rural parts of Arkansas and Tennessee.

A volunteer firefighter stood stoically as Vice President Al Gore lamented the destruction of a tornado and related storms that killed 40 people in four Southern states. But as Gore's wife, Tipper, extended a hand and a pat on the arm, tears welled in the eyes of Richie Miller, whose home was blown away, and he couldn't say a word. Later, he said: "There's just nothing left." Most of the 33 people killed Wednesday in Alabama were in Jefferson County, around Birmingham.

Tornadoes ripped through the South for the second time this week, killing eight people, wrecking historic neighborhoods and leaving more than 100,000 homes without power in Arkansas and Tennessee. One of Little Rock's oldest areas, the 100-year-old Quapaw Quarter, was sliced in half by a twister that killed three people Thursday night. A tornado also hit the historic district of Clarksville, Tenn., early Friday, leaving gaping holes in buildings, including the 121-year-old courthouse.

People searched through debris and counted the cost Friday of tornadoes and storms that savaged Nashville and a series of Southern states, killing at least 11 people. Nashville Mayor Phil Bredesen was stunned by the damage he saw during an aerial tour. He was even more astounded that nobody was killed by the two tornadoes that ripped through the city the day before.

Tornadoes swept across parts of the South on Thursday, ripping off roofs in downtown Nashville and splintering mobile homes in rural areas. At least 10 people were killed in the storms. No deaths were reported in Nashville, but heavy damage to buildings forced police to patrol downtown to prevent looting. Four people, including a young brother and sister, were killed before dawn by tornadoes in rural parts of Arkansas and Tennessee.

David Helms buried his wife and two sons Saturday, the first of many funerals set for tornado-ravaged communities in Alabama trying to rebuild and hold on to hope at Easter. A day normally filled with talk of revival instead offered the funeral as a reminder of the Wednesday night tornadoes that blasted through the South, leaving 40 dead: 33 in Alabama, one in North Carolina, one in Mississippi and at least five in Georgia. Hundreds more were injured.

A volunteer firefighter stood stoically as Vice President Al Gore lamented the destruction of a tornado and related storms that killed 40 people in four Southern states. But as Gore's wife, Tipper, extended a hand and a pat on the arm, tears welled in the eyes of Richie Miller, whose home was blown away, and he couldn't say a word. Later, he said: "There's just nothing left." Most of the 33 people killed Wednesday in Alabama were in Jefferson County, around Birmingham.

A huge chain of twilight tornadoes whirled and churned across the Deep South, leaving at least 40 dead, hundreds injured and thousands of homes damaged, ruined or simply vanished. Despite hours of warning, many residents in Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi were caught defenseless Wednesday evening against the uncommonly punishing storms. Some victims were sucked from storm cellars and emergency shelters and whisked through the air.

Storm-choked rivers surged further beyond their banks in southern Alabama, Georgia and the Florida Panhandle, driving families from their homes to join thousands who have fled from flooding that has led to at least 13 deaths throughout the South. Military police officers guarded against looters in flood-ravaged southern Alabama, where the town of Elba remained a muddy hole Monday, two days after an earthen levee ruptured along the Pea River.

Tornadoes ripped through the South for the second time this week, killing eight people, wrecking historic neighborhoods and leaving more than 100,000 homes without power in Arkansas and Tennessee. One of Little Rock's oldest areas, the 100-year-old Quapaw Quarter, was sliced in half by a twister that killed three people Thursday night. A tornado also hit the historic district of Clarksville, Tenn., early Friday, leaving gaping holes in buildings, including the 121-year-old courthouse.

When you've been going to the private Cranbrook Schools since kindergarten, the way York Ragsdale has, you just take the wilderness expedition for granted.

The death toll from the "Blizzard of '93" rose to 171 Monday as rescuers from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian Maritimes struggled with the aftermath of a storm of snow and ice that has been described as the worst this century. Several dramas continued that threatened to push the number of fatalities even higher.