Washington - Tornadoes touched down throughout southern
United States late Tuesday, killing at least 14 people and injuring
dozens more on the largest election day to date in the 2008
presidential race, local media reported.
Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky and Mississippi were worst hit. The
full extent of the damage would only be apparent Wednesday morning,
and the death toll was likely to increase.
At least four people were killed in Tennessee and a tornado swept
through the city of Memphis, the city's Commercial Appeal daily
newspaper reported online. CNN reported that some 90 people were
injured.
Earlier in the day, tornadoes struck across Arkansas, causing at
least seven deaths, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported. A
spokesman for the state's governor said rescue teams would be working
through the night to discover survivors.
At least three people were killed in a mobile home park in
Kentucky, the National Weather Service reported, while heavy damage
was also reported in northern Mississippi as strong winds turned over
trucks on highways and destroyed buildings.
Voting stations in western Tennessee were closed early amidst the
frenzy of the largest presidential party primary vote in US history,
where voters in 24 states were picking their favoured nominee.
Both Democratic contenders Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama
offered their condolences to the victims of Tuesday's disaster during
rallies in their home states of New York and Illinois on the night.
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