US TORNADO TERROR DEATH TOLL HITS 310

Whole neighbourhoods last night lay flattened, trees torn down and vehicles crushed beyond recognition as the death toll rose to at least 310.

President Barack Obama visited Alabama, the hardest hit of seven states blasted by at least 137 twisters and storms in America’s worst natural disaster since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

He said he had “never seen devastation like this,” telling the survivors: “We’re going to make sure you’re not forgotten.”

The aftermath was similar to scenes so familiar in Japan after the recent massive earthquake and tsunami.

In a sinister echo of the disaster in Fukushima, electricity was cut to an Alabama nuclear plant for a time yesterday. But the emergency generator kicked in and there was no damage.

People were still searching for neighbours and loved ones in the wreckage while others salvaged a handful of belongings from the debris.

“It happened so fast it was unbelievable,” said Jerry Stewart, 63, who was picking through the remains of his son’s wrecked home in a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama. “They said the storm was in Tuscaloosa and it would be here in 15 minutes. And before I knew it, it was here.”

The retired firefighter and his wife, along with their daughter and two grandchildren, survived by huddling in their porch. Friends down the street who did the same were not so lucky. He said he pulled out the bodies of two neighbours whose home was prised off its foundation by the winds.

The tornado passed him in a minute, others experienced it for only 20 to 30 seconds. But that was enough for the winds of up to 200mph to wreak havoc.The noise was described as like “runaway freight trains” as the twisters roared. Cries for help from trapped people were heard in the darkness. 

Express.co.uk