Rescue workers were due to begin damage assessment early Sunday, following Alabama's worst tornado in 70 years, which media reports said left 10 people dead and dozens injured.
American Red Cross volunteer Ronnie King, an amateur radio operator for the organization, told AFP that work would begin at 7:00 am (1200 GMT).
The Birmingham News, citing AP, reported that 10 people had died as a result of the tornado, up from the five victims cited by emergency agency officials to AFP late Saturday.
The worst of a series of twisters to strike this eastern Alabama town touched down here around 1:00 PM Saturday, striking at least two trailer parks, and leaving a path of destruction across a number of districts, according to King.
The Tuscaloosa Emergency Management Agency handled all initial responses to attend to damaged areas of the town, including evacuating victims, King said.
The damage was stretched across several communities of Tuscaloosa, including Inglewood, Taylorville, Bear Creek, Duncanville, East Tuscaloosa and Cottondale, according to King.
He said the American Red Cross had one shelter open, where several people were sheltering, but he noted that "the community has really pulled together and done a big thing on helping out people."
Late Saturday, Jimmy Adams, a spokesman for the Tuscaloosa Emergency Management Agency said: "The search and rescue is over.
"We don't have reports of missing people but we have canine teams in place to search for anyone who might turn up missing," Adams said.
About a dozen homes have been damaged, some seriously, by the tornado, according to local officials.
November and December are considered Alabama's secondary tornado season, with twisters still occurring, albeit less frequently than in summer or early fall.
Don Hartley, another emergency management agency spokesman, said authorities in Tuscaloosa had advance warning of the approaching tornado and sounded alarms.
"Of course, this time of year when people are out and about, it's hard to get that information to everybody who needs it," he pointed out -- TUSCALOOSA (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
