By Richard Fausset and Robin Abcarian, Los Angeles Times

April 28, 2011, 8:20 p.m.
Reporting from Tuscaloosa, Ala.—

A historic tornado outbreak battered six Southern states, swooping 
like a deadly scythe from Mississippi to New York, killing hundreds, 
injuring many more, flattening neighborhoods and forcing the closure 
of a nuclear power plant in Alabama, the hardest-hit state.

Search and rescue teams combed through the matchstick remains of homes 
and businesses in several states Thursday looking for survivors or 
bodies as residents grappled with grief and the struggle for food, 
water and shelter. It is believed to be the deadliest U.S. tornado 
toll in 37 years.

The death count rose steadily throughout the day: at least 195 in 
Alabama, 34 in Tennessee, 32 in Mississippi, 14 in Georgia, 12 in 
Arkansas, five in Virginia and one in Kentucky.

"We do expect that number to rise," Alabama Gov. Robert J. Bentley 
said. "This may be the worst natural disaster in Alabama's history."

President Obama declared a state of emergency in Alabama and announced 
he would visit the state Friday to meet with government officials and 
console victims.

The tornadoes began Wednesday afternoon when violent thunderstorms 
collided with warm air from the Gulf of Mexico, creating the massive 
twisters. By early evening, a monster cloud began to spin across 
Alabama.

As local evening newscasts showed live shots of the dark tornado 
spewing pieces of buildings and other debris, broadcasters urged 
viewers to take cover immediately. Their voices were filled with 
astonishment and concern. "Please, please take our advice and get to a 
safe place right now," said meteorologist Jason Simpson on ABC 33/40.

Parts of Tuscaloosa, a town of about 93,000 that is home to the 
University of Alabama, were unrecognizable at daybreak Thursday. Storm 
chasers captured the immense, gray funnel cloud on video, a terrifying 
column that seemed to fill the sky.

"The amount of damage that is seen is beyond a nightmare," Tuscaloosa 
Mayor Walter Maddox said after touring the city by air. The tornado, 
he said, wiped out a three- to four-mile long stretch of the town. The 
swath was about half a mile wide in places.

"I don't know how anyone survived," Maddox told reporters. He said 
some neighborhoods had been "removed from the map…. There are parts of 
this city I don't recognize, and that's someone that's lived here his 
entire life."

About 600 injured converged on DCH Regional Medical Center in 
Tuscaloosa. About 100 were admitted, 13 of them to the intensive care 
unit.

"The thing that amazed me was that everybody was so dirty," said Brad 
Fisher, hospital spokesman. "They looked like they'd been dragged 
behind a wagon."

Throughout the day in Tuscaloosa, rescue workers, worried neighbors 
and people looking for friends streamed in and out of the Rosedale 
Court public housing complex. In the early afternoon, Pastor M.L. 
Edmondson, his wife and son were walking hurriedly toward the 
wreckage, hoping to find two teenage girls who attend his Redeemed 
Apostolic Church.

Navigating the changed landscape was difficult. Entire buildings were 
gone.

"Dedre, it's right around here, isn't it? The house?" he called to his 
wife.

"It woulda been straight back," she said.

People standing in what had been kitchens scavenged for clean tennis 
shoes and dusty console televisions.

"Hey — y'all know a Letica Carter?" the pastor asked a passing group 
of teenagers.

They shook their heads. Edmondson found the house, marked with 
Katrina-like runes from the emergency crews. He stood among the rubble 
for a moment, taking it in.