Towns count dead after tornadoes

Cleanup begins after at least 22 people die in a trail of destruction across three states

SENECA, MO. -- Stunned tornado survivors picked the little that was left of their communities Sunday after storms smashed through the Plains and South, killing at least 22 people in three states and leaving behind a trail of destruction.

THE DEATH TOLL: At least 15 people died in southwestern Missouri. In Picher, Okla., at least six people were killed, and at least one person died in storms in Georgia.

TOWN WAS ALREADY HURTING: Picher, once a bustling mining center of 20,000 that dwindled to about 800 people as families fled lead pollution there, was a surreal scene of overturned cars, smashed homes and twisted metal stuck high in the canopy of trees.

"I swear I could see cars floating," said Herman Hernandez, 68. "And there was a roar, louder and louder."

The area is part of a Superfund site, and residents have been asked to take part in state and federal buyouts in recent years.

IN MISSOURI: Gov. Matt Blunt said on CNN on Sunday afternoon that about 9,000 residents were without power and could remain so for three to five days as crews worked to repair the electrical grid. He said at least 85 people were injured in the storm.

WEDDING TRAGEDY: A Missouri family on its way to a wedding was caught in a tornado. Five members of the family were killed.

ACTIVE SEASON: According to statistics from the National Weather Service's Web site, the weather service had received reports of 819 tornadoes, compared with an average of 539 tornadoes from January through May during the last three years.

PRESIDENT BUSH PROMISES AID: President Bush has talked with governors to express his condolences for the lives lost and to discuss the state's needs for recovery, according to the White House. "The federal government will be moving hard to help," Bush said.

Despite tornado warnings across the state Sunday, the Triangle escaped relatively unscathed.

Web sites for Duke Energy and Progress Energy reported fewer than 900 Triangle customers temporarily without power after a band of thunderstorms moved through the area early Sunday evening.