Tornadoes in US South kill 48

By Pat Harris

Hardest hit were the states of Tennessee -- where 24 died -- Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi and Alabama, with unconfirmed reports of 69 tornadoes across the region and northward into Indiana, according to the National Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma.

"This big of an outbreak is unusual on any day any time of year," centre metrologist Roger Edwards said. Tornadoes typically kill about 70 people in the United States each year.

The White House said President George W. Bush had called the governors of the affected states offering them consolation and support.

"We know of eight dead and are still looking," said Shelvy Linville, mayor of Lafayette, Tennessee. "There's a lot of devastation."

"This is a horrible situation," said Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, who ordered National Guard troops into two areas.

"The mission right now is to protect the damaged homes from looting," he said.

"The lightning and rain started back up suddenly and then we could see the funnel cloud through the lightning," she said. "The preacher's brick house across the street was destroyed and a mobile home nearby was nothing but a few pieces of tin."

'PRETTY ROUGH NIGHT'

Mississippi reported no deaths but about 11 injuries after two tornadoes ripped across an industrial park, seriously damaging a Caterpillar factory, and farm communities north of the University of Mississippi campus in Oxford.

(Additional reporting by Richard Cotton in Mississippi, Ed Stoddard in Dallas, Doina Chiacu in Washington, Michael Conlon in Chicago, Verna Gates and Peggy Gargis in Birmingham, Steve Barnes in Little Rock and Matt Spetalnick in Washington; Writing by Mike Conlon; Editing by Bill Trott)