Back May 5, 2003 — Hundreds of American Red Cross volunteers are working round-the-clock to provide emergency relief to families across the Midwest and South who were left stunned in the wake of Sunday’s deadly tornado outbreak. As many as 80 tornadoes ripped through Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Tennessee yesterday, killing at least 34 people and leveling large portions of towns throughout the four states. So far, the hardest-hit region is southeast Missouri, where a twister touched down at 6:25 p.m. CDT (7:25 p.m. EDT) and stayed on the ground for half an hour, passing through the heart of Pierce City. ”The damages here are overwhelming,” said Michael Spencer, public affairs officer for the American Red Cross, responding in Pierce City. “The entire downtown area has been pretty much flattened.” Pierce City suffered two of the state’s 20 fatalities after the powerful tornado cut through its National Guard Armory, where many residents sought refuge as the deadly storm system approached. American Red Cross volunteers established nine shelters in the surrounding area shortly after the disaster occurred and are providing food and other emergency items to recovery crews and affected residents. ”The families will return home today and many won’t have anything left,” said Spencer. “We’ll have Red Cross volunteers by their side though to help them cope with the disaster.” Meanwhile, in Kansas, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius declared a state of emergency in the southeastern portion of the state, where the storm caused major damage in the counties of Lawrence, Crawford and Cherokee, and killed seven residents. Last night, local Red Cross volunteers immediately established three shelters in Kansas City, Arma and Bashir. In western Tennessee, at least 10 people died when a tornado slammed into the Madison County law enforcement center, while, in Arkansas, a twister cut through the northeast part of the state, damaging homes and buildings. ”Our damage assessment teams in each of the four states went out this morning, so we will get an overall picture of the damages soon,” said Spencer. “Until then, all of the local chapters in each of the states affected are meeting the needs of the residents and we will continue to help the storm victims until we’re no longer needed.” Family members concerned for loved ones in the area and those seeking information on shelter locations, disaster safety and preparedness information should call the American Red Cross toll-free hotline, 1-866-GET-INFO.

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