Obama: 'We will stand by you'

JACKSON, Miss., April 28 (UPI) -- President Obama pledged to stand by all people affected by the deadly storms that swept through the southeastern United States Thursday.

"We will stand by you as you rebuild," Obama said before announcing new members of his national security team.

"The loss of life has been heartbreaking, especially in Alabama," Obama said.

The storms laid portions of states to waste, leveling neighborhoods, obliterating roadways and crippling towns.

The storms, "in a matter of hours," changed the lives of parents, children, friends, "entire communities," Obama said.

"It's nothing short of catastrophic," Obama said.

In Rainsville, Ala., Police Chief Charles Centers said 25 bodies were recovered near a trailer park, CNN reported. Many people remained unaccounted for, Centers said, and destroyed roads prevent authorities from reaching all the affected areas yet.0

Obama said he would travel to Alabama Friday to meet with Gov. Robert Bentley, local officials and affected families and Federal Emergency Management Administration Administrator Craig Fugate was sent to Alabama Thursday.

CNN reported 32 people died in Mississippi, 33 in Tennessee, 14 in Georgia, eight in Virginia and one in Arkansas.

Governors in Alabama, Mississippi, Virginia and Georgia declared states of emergency. Obama already has approved the disaster declaration in Alabama.

Bentley deployed about 2,000 National Guardsmen. In Mississippi, Gov. Haley Barbour said he activated the National Guard. National Guard spokesman Maj. Tom Crosson in Washington told CNN about 120 troops were in Mississippi and 50 more in Arkansas.

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate briefed Obama Thursday on the federal government's actions to assist states after violent storms plundered Texas and Arkansas Monday and Tuesday, then Southeastern states Wednesday.

The death toll in the hard-hit city of Tuscaloosa in west-central Alabama was 36 as of Thursday morning, Mayor Walter Maddox said.

"I don't know how anyone survived," Maddox said. "We're used to tornadoes here in Tuscaloosa. It's part of growing up. But when you look at the path of destruction, that's likely 5-to-7 miles long in an area half a mile to a mile wide ... it's an amazing scene. There's parts of the city I don't recognize, and that's someone that's lived here his entire life."

Napolitano was in Missouri Thursday to join officials for a tour of Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, which sustained damage during the tornadoes that struck the region Friday, the White House said.

"Our thoughts are with the families and communities in Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and the other states that have been devastated by the severe storms and tornadoes that ripped through the region last night," Fugate said. "As President Obama has made clear, this administration stands with the impacted states and is bringing our full resources to bear to support them in any way needed."

Fugate praised as "heroes" first responders, neighbors, volunteers and others "who have been working day and night to protect the public's health and safety."

In northeastern Ohio, near hurricane-force winds overnight Wednesday left more than 56,000 without power, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer reported.

A spokesman for First Energy said Thursday power would be fully restored by Friday.

The National Weather Service said overnight winds had a sustained speed of more than 30 mph, gusting higher than 60 mph. Winds of at least 74 mph are hurricane force.

In Ringgold, Ga., officials blamed a tornado for the deaths of five people, ABC News reported.

Catoosa County Sheriff Phil Summers said crews were searching for others in homes so badly damaged that "only foundations are left."

In Mississippi, residents also braced for flooding along the Mississippi River.

Wednesday's tornado outbreak now ranks as the third-deadliest tornado event in the United States since 1950, AccuWeather.com said. The deadliest is the April 3-4, 1974, outbreak, that spawned 148 tornadoes across 13 states, killing 308 people.

AccuWeather.com reported 14 states reported at least one tornado and that 164 tornadoes were reported.

The American Red Cross said more than 2,700 people in 12 states stayed in Red Cross shelters overnight.

The storm system responsible for producing this devastating outbreak was forecast to bring one more day of thunderstorms before pushing off the East Coast, The Weather Channel said Thursday. Damaging winds, large hail and isolated tornadoes could be expected from New York through the Mid-Atlantic states to northern Florida.