164 TORNADOS IN 24 HOURS IMPACT 7 SOUTHEASTERN STATES ALABAMA HIT BY EF5 STORM DEATH TOLL REACHES 290 WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27- THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 2011 Walter.

164 TORNADOS IN 24 HOURS IMPACT 7 SOUTHEASTERN

STATESALABAMA HIT BY EF5 STORM

DEATH TOLL REACHES 290

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27- THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 2011

Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, University of

North Carolina, USA

DEADLIEST DAY SINCE 1974

• Wednesday (April 27th) was the deadliest day of tornadoes in the United States since April 3, 1974, when 310 people lost their lives.

IMPACTED STATES/DEATHS

• ALABAMA/184+• TENNESSEE/33

• MISSISSIPPI/32

• GEORGIA/14

• ARKANSAS/11

• VIRGINIA/8

• LOUISIANA/2

TORNADOES: COLLISIONS OF WARM AND COLD AIR MASSES

Tornadoes are a typical seasonal occurrence in the Southern USA, BUT rarely are they as violent as they were in 2011.

CURRENT TORNADOES ATTRIBUTED TO COOLING OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN

Cooling of Pacific Ocean and warming of Gulf of Mexico waters could cause continuation of USA’s severe weather in May.

TUSCALOOSA, AL: EF5 STORM WITH 466 KPH (280 MPH) WINDS

APRIL 27, 2011

TUSCALOOSA, AL: A MILE-WIDE STORM; APRIL 27, 2011

Tuscaloosa, a town of around 95,000 in the west-central part of

Alabama, had shops, shopping malls, drug stores, gas stations flattened in one section of the city, while the University of

Alabama canceled exams and rescheduled graduations.

The University of Alabama, which was damaged, but not badly, canceled exams and rescheduled graduations.

PRATT CITY, AL (NEAR BIRMINGHAM): APRIL 27, 2011

PRATT CITY, AL: APRIL 27, 2011

PRATT CITY; AL: APRIL 27, 2011PRATT CITY; AL: APRIL 27, 2011

PRATT CITY; AL: APRIL 27, 2011PRATT CITY; AL: APRIL 27, 2011

PLEASANT GROVE, AL: APRIL 27, 2011

DEBRIS ACROSS HIGHWAY

Alabama's governor declared a

state of emergency and ordered the deployment of 2,000 National

Guardsmen, while Governors in Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee and Virginia were also declaring

states of emergency.

President Obama, who declared a

state of emergency for Alabama and ordered federal aid, will visit

Alabama on Friday (29th) to view the damage and meet with the

Governor.

Insurance experts who were

hesitant on Thursday to estimate damage costs,

believed they would run into the mid-level billions of dollars, with the worst impacts in Alabama’s

cities of Tuscaloosa and Birmingham.

BROWNS FERRY NUCLEAR POWER PLANT IN

ALABAMA

A SAFE SHUTDOWN

Over 1 million people without power in Alabama.

BROWNS FERRY NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

• “The reactors will remain shut until we have restored the reliability of the transmission system," said Ray Golden, spokesman for the Tennessee Valley Authority, which owns the 3,274-megawatt plant.