the destruction in smithville is absolute. the pain and suffering just as certain. >> to see people you see every day, and now our lives are totally shattered, but you know, a lot of us are still living. that's to be thankful for. >> mike whitehead said he's thankful no one was home. when the tornado hit, leveling his house of 17 years. >> we are just blessed to be alive. all this is just replaceable, it's just stuff, but we're still alive and we have neighbors across the road here, they lost their lives. >> reporter: the town high school heavily damaged. grocery store no more. the funeral home where some of those killed might have been remembered in coming days, it, too, is gone. >> i declare a state of emergency in 39 counties, and today, that is being expand eed state-wide. >> this video was caught on camera, the fury as long as the path. >> three-quarters of a mile wide. before it hit, there were branches falling out of the sky before we knew the tornado was coming. >> reporter: but ferocious winds and flying debris weren'

instead of closing a deal today, marcus mccoy made the 40-minute drive to decimated smithville, family, friends, coworkers, and grill in tow, hungry to help. >> i was sitting, thinking how blessed i was to still be in the land of the living. i said, i need to do something. >> reporter: across the south and beyond where tornadoes paid a visit, volunteers are on the move. communities are swelling in number as newcomers pour in to clean up, quench thirst, salvage the old, find something new, filling whatever need they can. at outpouring of support won't begin to fix what is broken here, and there's plenty broken, but it is outreach that is help mend what is hurting. >> reporter:many donations and aid have been donated by social media like this facebook page trying to reunite owners and their keepsakes. a sonogram photo, a man in uniform, another uniform minus its little boy. mississippi's governor haley barbour said america's volunteer tradition is enormously strong and plain to see. >> you have seen the devastation here, yet the shelters that have been opened have hardly anybody ipthem.

these pictures here show you the damage left behind in smithville, mississippi, homes that were just reduced to splinters. 13 people were killed there. meteorologist say the tornado that roared through smithville reached 200 miles an hour. 300 people are confirmed dead in seven states. >>> president barack obama viewed the destruction in tuscaloosa, alabama this morning. he call today heartbreaking. 36 people were killed there alone. the city is home to the university of alabama. during the president's tour of the city he comforted storm victims and said he had never seen such devastation. he promised federal help to recover and rebuild. >> later this afternoon the president and the first lady visited briefly with wounded congresswoman gabrielle giffords in florida. the 10 minute visit was after the space shuttle endeavor was scrubbed. she flew there from houston to see the launch. her husband is the commander of the mission. this will be the last flight of the endeavor before the shuttle program comes to an end. nasa hopes to reschedule the launch for monday. >>> the royal -- i am s

meanwhile, mississippi struggled to cope with sweeping destruction in towns like smithville.nor haley barbour toured there today. >> the great need here is for us to have the capacity to unravel all of this debris, to see if we've lost any more citizs. and that's going to take a little time. and then, we'll start cleaning up and rebuilding. i can tell you, smithville, they're chomping at the bit to start cleaning up and rebuilding. >> suarez: the national weather service reported the tornado that hit smithville had winds of 205 miles an hour, the most power to hit the state since 1966. even tombstones from the 1800s were ripped up and knocked aside. and the roll call of disaster continued across the south-- in tennessee... >> you wake up, you see everything you worked for and how long it took you, and it's all gone. >> in about ten seconds, it's gone. >> suarez: ...and in northern georgia, where dozens of homes were damaged or destroyed. we get the latest on the city hit hardest by the storms-- at least 42 people were killed and roughly 900 were injured after a tornado ripped

smithville and mississippi nearly all of the town's landmarks are gone . >> before it hit the branches fell out of the sky before we knew that -- and it is gone. it is torrential rains to the north and rivers are rising at record rates and wide spread flooding on mississippi and the governors. there is states of emergencis and president obama promised federal help. american red cross said half of the states are activated for disaster reponce. that is nearly unprecedented there. >> our time now is 4:38. >> we have a traffic development in dublin and we'll talk to sue about that. our weather and contrast are really nice. >> they are pounded with over and over in the south. >> 200 reports of tornados, 120, of them yesterday . we saw how devastating it can be if you don't have warning and can't get underground. >> we are spending millions of dollars with teams of vortex tornado chasers and trying to figure out how they are forming . back here at home, you can see the high clouds moving to the north and on the top of us, that is the jet stream that is fast and over the top of us and also go

tornado in almost 40 years from smithville, mississippi where neighborhoods were flattened and grocery stores wiped out. to rainsville, alabama where the wind tossed around a school bus and left a bank a heap of bric bricks. and in polk, georgia entire community leveled n.could be cord, alabama beings karen says it was 15 minutes of raw terror. her brother-in-law died in this home. she survived by crouching in her bath tub. >> i was holding on right here covered my head up. >>reporter: people knew they were coming up to 24 minutes ahead of time but the storms were just too wide and too powerful for so many people to get out of the way. >> the red cross is now taking care of the most disaster victims it's had since hurricane katrina and new approach is taken because of what they learned in katrina. we talk to bay area volunteers preparing to head to the south east. john has a lot to do before leaving for mississippi. >> this will be my 16th time going out to national disaster. >>reporter: soon the retired engineer will be in the middle of the disaster zone as red cross volunteer. he wil

this is smithville, mississippi. much of the town was destroyed by this tornado. emergency officials say at least 13 people were killed. grocery stores and other businesses were leveled. smithsville's mayor says it will take months to recover, but he says he is grateful for the lives that were spared. and a tornado in green county, tennessee also leaving death and destruction behind. you can see the power of the storm in tennessee's northeast corner by these homes ripped apart. it tore the roofs off houses, flattened trailers, and left cars covered in debris. green county officials say five people died in this storm. you can click our website, nbcbayarea.com for more images and coverage of the tornadoes in the southeast. we also have jeff ranieri with us tonight. is it getting better over there? >> they are starting to slowly clear out but as you mentioned one of the worst tornado outbreaks ever for some parts of the southeast. i'll have more on this coming up. also of course more on our local forecast back at home, raj, which is certainly going to be warming up.

. >> reporter: nearly all the town landmarks in smithville, mississippi, are gone. there were only moments to run. here's what the mayor did. >> we grabbed personal belongings. we went into the board room and got under the board table. when it was over with, everything was gone. >> reporter: now, there are more problems, like in poplar bluff, missouri. it was flooding, now hail. making people wonder when it's safe to say these storms have truly passed. the american red cross ceo says half of the nation's states have been activated for disaster response all at the same time. she says this pace is nearly unprecedented. rob and peggy? >> heartbreaking to see that destruction. emily schmidt, thanks for reporting this morning. >>> and we talked to the man who shot some of the tornado hitting his city. >> chris works at the university of alabama. >> it was surreal. you see things like that on on movies and on tv. but you never expect to see anything like that, you know, live in person. my boss and i were inside coleman coliseum, our basketball arena here on the university

reports of serious damage and loss of life from smithville, mississippi, where neighborhoods were flattened and grocery stores wiped out, to rainsville, alabama, where winds tossed around a school bus and left the bank just a heap of brick. and finally, polk, georgia, where entire communities were leveled. gas lines now beginning to form as power outages cripple the pumps. >> these are homes. this is the corner community, and then these are homes. neighborhoods where people live. >> reporter: in concord, alabama, it was 15 minutes of raw terror. up to 200 homes destroyed. six fatalities. >> i was talking to him the whole time. >> all i heard was screaming. >> reporter: karen mundy is still shaking today. on her first trip back to the house where her brother-in-law died and she survived, by climbing in her bathtub. >> i was just holding on right here. >> reporter: felt yourself being pulled? >> i could just feel it shaking me. >> reporter: let me take you inside one of these terribly destroyed homes. can you imagine what it was like here at the time? the wind is roaring, the sirens are waili

hitting the town of smithville, with so much force, it launched a pickup truck so far into the air, it still hasn't been found. but this outbreak had more than one punch. tornadoes packing winds of just under 200 miles an hour hit five states from arkansas to tennessee. >> we just took a tour. and i've got to say, i've never seen devastation like this. it is heart breaking. how are you? >> i'm feeling better today. >> feeling better? >> reporter: the president and first lady visiting a shelter in tuscaloosa today. walking through one of the many leveled neighborhoods, promising not to forget the pain. for most of the hard-hit towns across the south, like concord, alabama, today was another day of searching for survivors. across the south, there are gas lines in decatur, alabama. customers waiting up to an hour to fill up. in ringgold, georgia, a supermarket was leveled. and one of those powerful tornadoes ravaged apison, tennessee, survivors digging through the rubble. back in concord, another twister ruined this sheriff deputy's dream house. >> this used to be the living room. over th

mayor of tuscaloosa, alabama said his city was decimate smithville, mississippi was hit hard. >> beforehere was branches falling out of the sky before we knew the tornado was coming. >> we had got under the board table . when it was over with. everything was gone. storm is also generating torrential rains and they are rising in record rates . covingtons had states of emergency and promised federal help. a million people are without power and reports that the red cross will activate the largest shelter. that is abc 7 news. >> thanks a lot. >> check in with mike and see what is going on >> that used to be the radar. radar is gone. >>> and look at the dome over the top of it. the million bucks. down the drain. amazing how speeds of over 200 miles per hour and that will make it an ef 4. that is the second fastest theoretical tornado out there. i thought you might find it interesting . look at the building next to it. only thing on the ground is the roof. so many people lost their lives . take a look this morning . clouds are rolling in and notice we are seeing chops develop on the bay area

and in smithville, in the northeast, the police station, post office and city hall were among dozens of buildings that were badly damaged. >> we grabbed a quilt and personal belongings and we went into the boardroom and got under the board table, and when it was over, everything was gone. >> brown: in all, the national weather service fielded reports of at least 137 tornadoes across six states, leaving heavy damage in tennessee, kentucky, virginia and georgia. >> tore it all to pieces, blew it up. >> started seeing shingles coming off the roof, stuff flying around. i grabbed on the porch, the porch was lifting off. i thought i was gone. and then it was over. >> brown: the loss of life was the worst since an outbreak of tornadoes killed 315 people in 1974. and there have now been 600-plus tornadoes reported in the month of april, a new record. >> brown: and now to alabama's largest city birmingham where at least 26 people were killed, more than 170,000 people there are without power tonight. a.c. roper is the city's police chief. he joins me now. and thank you so much for joining us.