Feb 8, 2008 10:45 am US/Eastern
Harsh Reality Sets In For Tornado Survivors
LAFAYETTE, Tenn. (CBS) ―
In the aftermath of stunningly deadly and destructive tornadoes, this hard-hit community now has other worries - looters, power shortages and a large number of residents still unaccounted for.
There are 21 counties in Tennessee alone looking to be declared federal disaster areas, reports CBS News Early Show correspondent Jeff Glor. In Madison County, there is $47 million in damage.
"They're going to have the looters and then the metal scrappers giving them hell," said Jason Newsse, who came from Myrtle Beach, S.C., to help authorities with search and recovery efforts that included cadaver-detecting dogs.
"That's what I'm worried about," said Sonja Stovall, who sought assurances Thursday that police would patrol her ravaged neighborhood until she returned to salvage what she could from her heavily damaged home.
Macon County was under a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew. Sheriff's Detective Jeff Brewer said authorities received many calls about looters, though he didn't have details. Access to the worst-damaged areas was tightly controlled by police during the day, with residents required to show identification at checkpoints before going to their homes.
Residents across Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas are still reeling after the nation's deadliest twister rampage in two decades killed 59 people. President Bush, who declared five Tennessee counties major disaster areas and ordered federal aid, planned to visit the state Friday.
Authorities here said they need all the help they can get.
"I think when you look at the area, it's pretty obvious," Macon County Mayor Shelvy Linville said.
The rural county along the Kentucky border took the heaviest toll. A 14th death was reported Thursday, and the whereabouts of 230 county residents remained unknown, said Melissa McDonald, a spokeswoman for the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency. It was believed the missing were most likely staying with relatives or in hotels outside the county, but authorities found three people Wednesday night in a basement where they had been trapped.
Searchers went door to door Thursday, marking homes with taped X's afterward.
Utility workers, including crews coming from other areas, worked to restore power across the county, which Lafayette Mayor Bill Wells called "priority No. 1," especially in chilly morning temperatures below 40 degrees.
"You can't heat a home. You can't cook," Wells said. "You can't do anything without power."
The town's McDonald's reopened, quickly creating jammed counters and a drive-thru backup spilling into the road. Other fast-food restaurants also opened.
People streamed in from out of town with offers to help with whatever needed to be done.
"I really appreciate it," said Jerry Anderson, referring to a dozen people helping retrieve belongings and pile up debris from a home where the only thing still standing was the bathroom where Anderson, his wife and their four children survived the tornado. "I don't know none of these people. They're just good people."
There were other stories of hope across the region.
In Greenville, Ky., 18-year-old Samantha Oakley gave birth to a healthy 7-pound, 1-ounce son in the dark soon after the storm knocked out power at Muhlenberg Community Hospital.
As the lights went out, doctors "hollered `flashlights!' and nurses took off and got one," said the baby's grandmother, Vicki Reed.
Charity efforts were under way. A classroom inside the Pleasant Field Full Gospel Church building in Scottsville, Ky., was filled with bags of clothes and a nearby kitchen was stuffed with donated food, ready for displaced residents.
People marveled at the tale of survival in Castalian Springs, Tenn., where 11-month-old Kyson Stowell had been found Tuesday 150 yards from his ruined home. He was discharged from a hospital Thursday and was in the care of his grandparents. He had scrapes and gashes on his face, but otherwise was fine.
As word the tornado was coming spread through the community, the Stowells called their 23-year-old daughter, Kerri, warning her to take cover. In a phone call with her fiance's sister, Kerri said she was bracing for the storm in the bathtub, clutching her baby to her side.
It took two hours for the Stowells to drive around the downed trees and power lines and make the four-mile trip to Kerri's home. During that time, firefighters David Harmon and Karl Wegner combed through the pasture one more time. They found Kyson face-down in the mud.
"It looked like a baby doll," Harmon said. "He was laying there motionless ... and he took a breath of air and started crying."
When the Stowells made it to the scene, the first thing Douglas Stowell saw was a firefighter holding the baby. Not long after, another emergency worker showed Stowell a photo of a body found nearby. He confirmed it was his stepdaughter.
"If it had been both of them, I couldn't have handled it," he said.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
