May 12, 2008	Monday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 6, 1429

WASHINGTON, May 11: A series of powerful tornadoes tore across the United States late on Saturday, killing at least 21 people and shattering homes and businesses, officials and media said.

Susie Stonner, spokeswoman for the Missouri department of emergency management, said there were 13 confirmed dead in her state as search-and-rescue workers on Sunday searched for survivors.

Numerous tornadoes touched down in the evening hours as the storms ripped across Oklahoma at 35-45 miles per hour, killing seven in the area near Picher, Oklahoma, the state department of emergency management said. Some 150 people were injured.

The high winds ripped roofs off houses, and other homes were crushed to kindling as the storms downed power lines, utility poles and trees.

“In some cases, only a home’s concrete slab remains,” the state said in a statement.

The American Red Cross has opened shelters for those affected by the storms in Oklahoma and Missouri.

Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry declared a state of emergency in the disaster area.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Picher and all of the other Oklahoma communities that have been impacted by the latest wave of severe weather,” Henry told CNN.

National Guard troops were called to shut off access to Picher. The state said that about 6,300 homes and businesses were without electric power, including 3,000 near Tulsa.

US President George Bush called it “a sad day for those who lost their lives in Oklahoma and Missouri and Georgia because of the tornadoes.”

Speaking in Waco, Texas the day after his daughter Jenna’s wedding on the family ranch, he said: “We send our prayers to those who lost their lives and the families of those who lost their lives, and the federal government will be moving hard to help.” Bush added that he would be “in touch with the governors to offer all the federal assistance we can.”

The storms barrelled eastward and killed one person in the Southeastern state of Georgia in the early morning hours of Sunday, that state’s emergency management agency said.—AFP