Tornadoes hit Alabama, Missouri, Kansas

Tornadoes hit Alabama, Missouri, Kansas
2 deaths reported, high school damaged, number of injuries unclear

Apparent tornadoes killed at least 13 people in Alabama on Thursday, including eight at a high school where students were trapped under a collapsed roof, state officials said.

State Emergency Management Agency spokeswoman Yasamie Richardson said eight fatalities "are in relation to the high school but whether they are all students or some students and teachers we're not sure."

House Speaker Seth Hammett, at the statehouse in Montgomery, announced that five people had also died at Miller's Ferry in west Alabama, where another apparent tornado tore into mobile homes.

Students report
Amberlee Henderson, a student at the high school in Enterprise, said fellow students screamed as the tornado hit: "They were bleeding a lot and crying; there was glass everywhere … no ceiling, no walls, cement blocks falling."

Martha Rodriquez, a 15-year-old sophomore, said she had left the school about five minutes before the storm hit. When she returned, a hall at the school had collapsed, she said.

"The stadium was destroyed and there were cars tipped over in the parking lot and trees were ripped out. There were trees and wood everywhere. It was just horrible," she said.

More than 40 people were brought in to an Enterprise hospital as a violent storm front crossed the state. The same system was blamed for a tornado that killed a 7-year-old girl in Missouri.

"The clouds were so dark that all the lights out here came on," said Walter Thornton, who works at Enterprise Municipal Airport.

Injured to the ER
Toni Kaminsky, a spokeswoman with the medical center in Enterprise, said dozens of patients — including students and teachers — were waiting at the town hospital's emergency room. As many as six students had been airlifted to hospitals in nearby Dothan, about 30 miles from Enterprise, Kaminsky said.

Local officials reported there was significant damage to the school, with the gym’s roof heavily damaged.

William Cooper said he had seen more than 15 students with injuries. Cooper said he thought there were four students trapped in the school, with fire rescue personnel working to get them out.

Cooper said that officials from numerous fire and police departments in the area had come to assist.

Tornado watches issued Thursday morning across Alabama led several school systems to close or dismiss students early. It wasn’t immediately clear whether Enterprise, in southeast Alabama, was one of them.