At least 30 dead as tornadoes sweep U.S. South

By Steve Barnes

The storms tore across Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi and Alabama, overturning trucks, trapping people, ripping up houses, smashing cars, and uprooting trees. By Wednesday morning, the city of New Orleans and the state of Georgia were also under tornado warning.

Several candidates expressed condolences to the victims as they addressed supporters in Tennessee, where media reported four polling stations were shut down by the storms.

The roof of a warehouse collapsed in Memphis, killing at least three, while northeast of Nashville, a massive fire erupted at a gas station with flames shooting up 500 feet (152 meters) up in the air, the newspaper said on its Web site.

"It looks like a war zone," university President David Dockery told CNN. "Cars and trucks thrown from one side of the campus to the other."

"It's a pretty rough night in the scope of it. I don't know if I can remember when we've had as many (tornado) warnings and touchdowns," Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe said by telephone.

In Kentucky, at least seven people were killed, state emergency spokesman Buddy Rogers told Fox News on Wednesday.

CNN on Wednesday reported nearly 100 injuries from the storm system, which swept through Arkansas before moving into Tennessee.

The Jackson Sun reported that a nursing home had been seriously damaged, but the 114 residents were evacuated safely.