Top Story USA
02 March 2007
Deadly Tornadoes batter Southern US
Tornadoes have ripped through the southern parts of the United
States killing at least 11 people and leaving a trail of destruction.
One Tornado damaged a school building in Alabama, killing at
least five people when walls and a roof collapsed on them. Rescue
work is going on to find other victims. Two people have killed
in Georgia when the storms hit a hospital.
President George W Bush has offered federal assistance to the
states of Alabama and Missouri.
"The school's pretty much destroyed," said a student,
who was in Enterprise High School when the tornado struck.
Rescuers dug through piles of rubble beneath portable lights
at the school, searching for anyone trapped in the debris.
The US Storm Prediction Center (SPC) had earlier warned that
"major severe weather outbreak" could hit the eastern
third of the US.
Alabama state emergency official Yasamie Richardson said six
people had died in Enterprise - five of them at the school.
At least 40 people were injured as the tornado, travelling
at over 50mph (80kph), swept through Enterprise.
A state of emergency has been declared at Alabama and 100 National
Guard troops have been sent to the town.
Tornadoes were also reported in Arkansas and Kansas, inflicting
extensive damage uprooting trees, bringing down power lines
and overturning mobile homes and cars.
US military hospital head removed
The head of the US army's flagship military hospital has been
dismissed for providing poor treatment of wounded soldiers,
returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan.
China compares US to a Nosy neighbour
Reacting to the US call for greater transparency in Beijing's
military spending, China has likened U.S. doubts to the prying
of a voyeur curious to see his neighbour naked.
Bomb threat at Columbine school
Columbine High School, the scene of one of the US's deadliest
school shootings, was evacuated after several bomb threats received
from an unidentified man seeking media attention.
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