April 12, 2000
Tornadoes Destroy Homes in Southern
States. By Ian Busse
Hail, heavy rain, high winds and tornadoes ripped through
the Southern states early Monday morning, ripping off roofs, tossing trees into power
lines and forcing a small plane into the Gulf of Mexico. The storms struck from Texas to
Georgia, with at least one storm-related death reported in Alabama. Damage was widespread:
Roofs and power lines were broken in or near dozens of cities and towns. In West Feliciana
Parish north of Baton Rouge, Fire Chief Tommy Boyett said, "a tornado-toppled trees
onto 25 to 30 houses."
In the apparent plane crash, the pilot was the only person
on board the single-engine airplane, which disappeared from radar screens south of Cameron
in southwestern Louisiana about 6 a.m. Monday, the Coast Guard said. The Coast Guard had a
boat, plane and helicopter searching for the man in the Gulf of Mexico. In Piedmont, Ala.,
a 90-year-old woman was killed when one of the storms hit a mobile home park, authorities
said, throwing her home about 130 feet. At least seven people were injured. One person was
hospitalized in stable condition; six were treated and released. About 20 people left
homeless were taken to a shelter. In north Georgia, thunderstorms injured six people, two
of them seriously, and destroyed or damaged dozens of homes. Jennifer and Jamie Guice fled
their Cedartown, Ga., mobile home with their children, trying to find safety inside a
three-foot culvert under their driveway. |
