‘Catastrophic’ tornadoes in US south kill hundreds

The storms, which have caused billions of dollars of damage and left at least 306 people dead, were one of the deadliest outbreaks of twisters to ever hit the United States.

The disaster is the country’s worst since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

President Barack Obama will visit the affected areas on Friday after describing the loss of life as “heartbreaking” and the damage to homes and businesses as “nothing short of catastrophic”. He also promised federal support for rebuilding the devastated areas.

The tornadoes hit over several days this week, flattening neighbourhoods, flipping over cars and trees, and felling power lines. Up to one million people remain without power after the swarm of storms – more than 160 were reported in total.

Read more from Channel 4 News: what causes tornadoes? 

The President said: “I want every American who has been affected by this disaster to know that the federal Government will do everything we can to help you recover, and we will stand with you as you rebuild.”

Hard hit

Alabama was one of the hardest hit states, and Birmingham Police Chief AC Roper said rescue workers were sifting through rubble “hand to hand” to pull people out of destroyed homes.

“We even rescued two babies, one that was trapped in a crib when the house fell down on top of the baby,” he told PBS NewsHour.

Alabama’s university city, Tuscaloosa, was also badly hit – AccuWeather.com meteorologist John Nagelberg said the 1.6km wide tornado which tore through the city could have been the biggest to ever hit the state.

Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Craig Fugate, told CNN there were unconfirmed reports of “entire towns flattened” in northern Alabama.

“I think this is going to rank up as one of the worst tornado outbreaks in US history,” he said. “We’re still trying to get people through rescues and locate the missing.”