Savage Storms Lash the South

2-year-old dies in Kentucky; Mississippi and Arkansas battered

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Apr 5, 2008 8:58 AM CDT

(Newser) – Severe storms tore through Southern states yesterday, the AP reports. Homes were damaged and tens of thousands of people had their power knocked out. A 2-year-old Kentucky girl died in surging floodwater and 22 injuries were reported in Mississippi as storms packing possible tornadoes toppled trees, ripped roofs off homes and businesses, and sent debris flying.

Serious damage was reported in Louisiana and Alabama. The same storm system hit Arkansas Thursday when a tornado tore through Little Rock, tossing small planes at the airport and devastating a trailer park southwest of the city. "It's like a war zone," one witness said. "There's like five or six trailers topped up on top of each other. It's a mess, it's terrible."

[Images (4)]

[Videos (1)]

Workers help clean up a tornado damaged home, Friday, April 4, 2008 in Cammack Village, Ark. (AP Photo/Mike Wintroath)

Major Kelly, a tree removal specialist, cuts sections off the elm tree that fell across a Northeast Jackson, Miss., resident's home in powerful storms, Friday, April 4, 2008. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

As dusk falls in northeast Jackson, Miss., Anna Marie Payne holds her 7-year-old son Bronson Payne up so he can get a better view of the blocked street . (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Tree tops, pine cones and needles mix with a sign post and stop sign that were ripped from their mooring in a Northeast Jackson, Miss., neighborhood in powerful storms. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

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Tornado hits Little Rock,Arkansas. (CryptaniteATL (YouTube))

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Savage Storms Lash the South