19 dead as tornadoes tear through southern US

NEW ORLEANS, United States (AFP) - Nineteen people were killed as tornadoes and severe storms rippped through the southern United States on Thursday, with many of the victims at an Alabama school, the White House said.

The US government extended federal aid to the stricken states of Alabama and Missouri. The aid came on the same day President George W. Bush, criticized for a slow response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, visited New Orleans to tell the storm victims he had not forgotten about them.

"The administration stands ready to help," Bush spokesman Scott Stanzel said, adding that Bush was "deeply saddened" by the deaths, which included a girl in Missouri and 18 more people in Alabama, of whom 13 were in a school.

The worst-hit was the Alabama city of Enterprise, where a tornado tore through a high school.

"I felt like I was on a rollercoaster. It was the scariest thing ever," student Brooke Shroades told the Enteprise Ledger newspaper after surviving the twister by hunkering down in a cubbyhole at the school.

"When I heard the train sound, I started screaming," she said.

Her father, Mike Shroades, who had hoped to pick up his daughter before the storm hit, sought shelter in a school hallway with other parents, teachers and students.

"You could feel your body moving from the wind and suction," the Enterprise Ledger quoted him as saying.

School official Bob Ferris said the extent of the tragedy was not immediately clear. "We need your prayers," he said at a news conference.

City Mayor Kenneth Boswell announced he had imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew to ensure emergency crews can work unhindered.

Dozens of people were taken to hospitals in Enterprise and other parts of the southern state, where numerous homes were reported destroyed.

"Cars are overturned and kids are being taken away in stretchers," Enterprise resident Maria Finch told the Montgomery Advertiser.

Television footage showed destroyed buildings, smashed cars, uprooted trees and downed power lines.

"It is complete devastation," Sheriff Russell Thomas told WSFA television as he assisted in rescue efforts in Enterprise. "It is very tragic."

"Enterprise has suffered major and widespread damage," said Alabama Governor Bob Riley, announcing he deployed about 100 National Guardsmen to assist in recovery efforts.

Local hospitals asked for blood donations and utility Alabama Power said about 15,000 homes across the state were without power Thursday afternoon.

In Missouri, one girl was reported dead after an apparent tornado touchdown.

The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said a total of 19 tornadoes were reported to have touched down in Alabama, Missouri and Georgia on Thursday.

And it warned more twisters, hail and "destructive thunderstorm winds" could threaten the southeastern United States and possibly some areas farther north during the night.