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Hundreds Killed in Deadly Storms; Tornadoes Rip Through Southern States; Storms Kill at Least 194 in Alabama; At least 283 Dead in Six States; Countdown to Royal Wedding; Morocco: 14 Dead After Blast; Golf Ball-Sized Hail

Aired April 28, 2011 - 16:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's continue on, on our breaking news here. Welcome back. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Keeping you in the loop, and keep a look here at this live picture.

This is Tuscaloosa, Alabama. We're waiting for this live news conference from the Alabama governor, Robert Bentley, and also the state's EMA director. They're touring some of the hardest-hit counties, one of which, obviously, is Tuscaloosa County. As soon as they come out, we will take that live.

But now watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: They are calling the storm catastrophic. More than 200 people have lost their lives as tornadoes have ravaged an entire region. I'm Brooke Baldwin. CNN is all over this unfolding story right now.

(voice-over): Horror sweeps across the South, the most powerful storm system in decades devastating towns and ending lives.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's parts of this city that I don't recognize. I don't know how anyone survived.

BALDWIN: Loved ones are still missing, others in packed hospitals. And the ones still standing are seeing what's left.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everything is in chaos. It's like a silent monster.

BALDWIN: From Texas to New York, millions take cover. Coming up, you will hear from the people who escaped with seconds to spare.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here it is right here. Right here. See it spinning?

BALDWIN: And we are live on the ground, where crews are rushing to sift through the destruction.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Horrible.

BALDWIN: And save lives. (END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: OK. Let's start with the latest word we have here, and the death toll, unfortunately, keeps going up and up and up, but the latest number we have with regard to all these storms that have assaulted the South is at least 272, the number of fatalities across these six different states.

And that number went up just since the top of the hour. Just a short time ago, we heard from President Obama, speaking from the White House, and he called all this damage you are looking at here heartbreaking. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We can't control when or where a terrible storm may strike. But we can control how we respond to it. And I want every American who has been affected by this disaster to know that the federal government will do everything we can to help you recover, and we will stand with you as you rebuild.

I have already spoken to the governors of Alabama, Virginia, Mississippi, Tennessee and Georgia, and I have let them know that we are ready to help in any possible way.

I have declared a state of emergency in Alabama so that we can make all necessary resources available to that state.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: As he mentioned, the president will be heading to Alabama tomorrow, along with Craig Fugate, chief of FEMA.

Now I want to take you to Tuscaloosa to Reynolds Wolf in the storm- stricken area there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: One of the worst things about this tornado is not just the destruction that we have seen or a lot of the wreckage, but also some of the heart-wrenching stories we have heard from many of the people.

Shannon Thomas is with us.

Shannon, you grew up here in here in Tuscaloosa. What do you think about what you have seen here?

SHANNON THOMAS, RESIDENT: I think it's terrible. I grew up here. And we never saw nothing like this before. I mean, I grew up here, went to high school here. And I was at the reserve unit here. Never saw nothing like this before in our life.

WOLF: Now, where were you when the storm took place, when this struck? THOMAS: I was at home. And it just -- we thought it was -- we thought -- when it was going on, we just heard the train, and it was just like mind-blowing. We saw -- we thought it was just like mind- blowing.

WOLF: Your family and friends OK?

THOMAS: So far. My brother, it's like the house was blew off over his head. And he just called me and told me that he saw the tornado over his head. And it was -- he looked up inside the tornado and saw debris going around inside of it. He said the only thing that happened to him was his fingers got...

WOLF: Very fortunate compared to many others. Thanks so much for your time.

The amazing thing about this story, the numbers that continue to grow. We have had well over 100. In fact, we are getting close to the 200- mark in terms of deaths in Alabama alone, many more across the Southeast. Many people still missing. In fact, in this one neighborhood, there are anywhere from two, some numbers as high as four children that are missing in this area behind me.

We have had some parties that have been coming through here searching for people. Hopefully, it is going to be a rescue mission, not a recovery mission. We have had guide dogs that have been through here also, hoping to find some survivors.

But, right now, things do look very grim.

One thing that is a true testament to the storm is not only the wreckage that you see affecting the houses and some of the trees, but even some of these incredible vehicles you see over here, many of these five-ton trucks that are designed to handle the rigors of the battlefield. But sure enough, many of them just in ruin for the time being.

What a devastating story. And, again, it may get worse as the hours and days continue. Let's send it back to you in the newsroom.

BALDWIN: Reynolds Wolf, thank you.

I do want to take you back 24 hours. It was right around this time yesterday that we showed you this picture live. This was the tornado hitting Coleman, Alabama. Do you remember this? We were on this live. This, we now know, was just the beginning.

I want to go back to what Chad Myers told me 24 hours ago right here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: The Weather Service saying that this is possibly the biggest outbreak they have seen in very many years. And it's just started. We are just to the heat of the day now. This will continue all night long.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And 24 hours later, here you and I are in the same exact spot. We were hoping it wouldn't be as bad as expected, but wishful thinking, I guess.

MYERS: Two hundred and seventy-three people now.

BALDWIN: Two hundred and seventy-three now?

MYERS: That came out a minute ago. I was just walking in.

The number is huge and the number keeps going up rapidly. They are finding people so quickly now. I don't know where this number is going to stop and it's very disturbing. If it clicks up one or it comes down two because it -- that's normal. For it to continue to go up by 10 to 20 people an hour is mind-boggling.

BALDWIN: Well, it sounds like when you talked to some of our crews on the ground and people talk about, look, if you know a tornado is coming, you huddle in the middle of the home, and you huddle in the tub, in the bathroom. But with this particular swathe of tornadoes, it took the whole home, miles away.

MYERS: Yes. I want to take you to some video. I don't know if you have seen this video yet or not. This is basically just coming in. What the tornado did from the air, from looking down at what used to be literally houses. Why did so many people die?

Why did so many people -- why -- now I guess we are approaching 300. Why could that have happened if everyone was in a safe house, in their safe room, in their -- down below -- in their closet? Because now as we fly, Brooke, there are houses that aren't there. There are foundations right there in the middle of your screen. And there's not a stick on top of that foundation. Even if you were in your closet, you were still in either injured or you were killed.

BALDWIN: You know, oftentimes, at least for me, when I think of tornadoes, I think of more of a narrow, cylindrical shape. But this, did I hear, one of these, it was a mile wide?

MYERS: Yes. A mile wide and 60 miles long. Now, not the mile wide the entire 60 miles. It came, it grew, it got smaller, it grew, it got smaller.

But three tornadoes out of 10,000 can ever be this big. Only about six out of 10,000 can be the F-4 scale. The men and women of the National Weather Service are not back yet from their survey, from the damage -- we don't know how big the wind speeds are, but clearly 200 miles per hour will be easy and I have never seen a day where so many were F-3, F-4, and F-5s.

When we get the numbers in, they will be staggering at the number of large -- it is like having five Category 5 hurricanes in one season all making landfall. That's what yesterday was like.

BALDWIN: You talk about the number 273 now you are saying in terms of fatalities over six different states. Is this storm system, is it at all moving northward or is it done?

MYERS: It's not done yet. I have three tornado warnings in the low country of North Carolina, kind of, you know, Dare County, kind of off to the east there. And that's going to quickly move offshore.

And the rotation will all be offshore. There is still a potential for some spin down in southern Georgia and northern Florida for the next couple of hours, but not this supercell storm system like we had yesterday. One storm here, another storm 50 miles away, not interrupting the flow to this one. This one never slowed down.

They bump into each other and they die. They bump into each other and they. Then they split, they bump and they die. And they never get to this -- these were by themselves all day. We don't have that type of situation today.

BALDWIN: Chad Myers, stand by. We will talk again.

Again, we are watching and waiting for Alabama Governor Robert Bentley and the EMA director to speak there from Tuscaloosa. You see the bottom right hand corner of your screen, that's the live picture we have. As soon as we see them, we will take that to you live.

But I want to show you something else. This is video that we have gotten in from Georgia. This is where we are just hearing of this horrific story, but it is a story at least of survival. It is bittersweet. A young girl asleep in her bed is literally sucked up by a tornado. We will tell you what happened to her next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Back to the aftermath of these severe and fatal storms across six different states, fatalities now up to 272, 273. The latest number we have out of Alabama, according to the governor, who we should be hearing from any moment now, again live pictures from Tuscaloosa, we will be hearing from Governor Robert Bentley and also head of the E-mail, emergency management, out of Alabama, 184 deaths in Alabama alone.

Here are live pictures. And you can see here clearly, this is one of the areas hardest hit. By the way, the governor of Alabama born and raised in Tuscaloosa. So he knows this area. He's very familiar with all these different places that have just simply been destroyed.

Alabama, as I mentioned, the hardest hit area, but this storm, it spread from Mississippi across Alabama into Georgia, into Tennessee, even into Virginia. In fact, look at this here. This is Georgetown, Tennessee. Much of Eastern Tennessee got hammered with tornadoes and damaging hail, tops of trees just snapping off.

And in many cases, trees were just totally uprooted, cars flipped, parts of buildings just spread in pieces all along the ground. At least 34 people died in Tennessee. In fact, near Chattanooga, one woman was killed when a tree fell on her home. Thousands of people are still without power. To Mississippi, 32 killed, dozen injured. Again, the pictures show the homes, the pieces of the homes, property ripped to smithereens. In 12 Mississippi counties, tornadoes and floods left scenes just like this, pieces of mattresses, people left to pick up the pieces. One man died when he drove his car into the floodwaters.

Mississippi's governor is warning people who live right along the Mississippi River, get prepared for major, major flooding over the course of the next two weeks.

And, also, let's talk about Virginia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was sitting in my recliner, and I could feel the house lift up like it was going to go. And I thought we were going to take a ride, but, praise God, he sustained us. But it was scary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: That is just one of the survivor stories coming to us from central Virginia.

Now, Virginia State Police say they started getting emergency calls right around 1:00 this morning about overturned tractor trailers and downed power lines and damaged homes. We can tell you now at least eight people in Virginia have lost their lives in these storms.

And the story I'm about to tell you, this is unbelievable. First, you have to look at the video. This is the devastation in Spalding County, Georgia. This is just south of Atlanta. And while you are watching this, let me tell you about the 13-year-old girl who was safely tucked in for the night right here, Spalding County.

She was sound asleep when the tornado hit and sucked her right out of her house. Her mother found her out on the lawn, still in her bed, in her bed, OK. But her bedroom, as you can see, doesn't exist anymore. In fact, her mother says that the whole end of the house came off.

And this now, this is Ringgold, Georgia. This is pretty close to Tennessee. It's about northwest Georgia. Half of the 14 tornado deaths in Georgia happened here. A motel reportedly has collapsed and a number of restaurants near it are damaged or just totally obliterated. In fact, it's so bad in Ringgold, roads into this city, they have to be closed. You can see why.

Rafael Romo is in Ringgold.

And, Rafael, I know you have been talking to people who have made it through the storm. It's unbelievable.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR: It -- it really is unbelievable, Brooke.

And when we got here this morning, it was just incredible, the amount of devastation and destruction. But what we have seen in the last few hours is people coming together in this community, trying to start the cleaning-up process, removing the debris.

You can see, for example -- I'm standing in the parking lot of a church, Welcome Hill Baptist Church. And this area where I'm standing, this place where I'm standing, was the -- right in the middle of the path of one of the tornadoes that hit this place. Right next to me, right behind me, this used to be the assembly hall. It was partially destroyed. And as you can see, crews have already come in and they started fixing it up. It's been boarded up. And so what we have seen is people from other counties -- we're in Catoosa County here in Ringgold -- coming here and trying to help people.

Also, we've been talking to those who barely survived this disaster, a lady who told us that two different trees hit her house, and amazingly, the entire family survived. A gentleman who lost everything but -- an elderly gentleman, he's 71 -- but him and his wife are doing OK.

BALDWIN: Yes.

ROMO: And something else that we found here when I got here, Brooke, is this piece of debris. This used to be the steeple of the church. It's lying on the ground, as you can see. But what people here are telling me is that opposite -- opposite to what's happening here with this steeple, they're still standing on their feet, and that's the attitude they want to take, Brooke.

BALDWIN: And that's wonderful to hear, but it's just amazing, Rafael, because keep hearing story after story, you know, some of which have a happy ending, and many, though, do not.

I do want to ask -- you know, we've talked a lot today about any kind of warning. And when those tornado sirens go off, oftentimes, you know, you have to act within minutes. Did folks in Ringgold, did they hear sirens last night?

ROMO: I was talking to a young man who told me that he did, indeed, hear a siren sound, but he says that he had so little time before the first time he heard the siren and the time he had to go running inside the house and -- he was telling me that he and his family ran into a hallway, tried to get away from any windows, and that's how they survived. There was an alert, but the time between that and the time when the tornado actually hit was very, very short, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Rafael Romo, thank you.

Coming up next, more of these stories, another tragic story, this one out of Mississippi. A dad is camping out with his daughter last night when the storm hits. And then after covering her inside of their tent, a tree falls right on them. He does not survive, but she does. I'll speak live with one of his friends about this act of heroism, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BALDWIN: So many people have died in the violent storms over the course of the last few days, it's tough to isolate just one story. But there is one story I want to share. It's about a father and a daughter on a camping trip in Mississippi that really jumped out at us.

Wade Sharp was a lieutenant with the Covington, Louisiana, police department. He was killed Wednesday when a massive tree fell onto his tent. Lieutenant Sharp used his own body to shield his 9-year-old daughter from harm. It worked. She's OK. She wasn't hurt.

The chief of police from Covington, Louisiana, Chief Richard Palmisano, joins me now on the phone. And Chief, I am -- my condolences to you for losing your friend. We know Wade Sharp was a 19-year-old (SIC) veteran on your force. If you can, sir, can you tell me a little bit more about what it was that happened Wednesday?

CHIEF RICHARD PALMISANO, COVINGTON, LOUISIANA, POLICE (via telephone): Well, basically, Lieutenant Sharp and his daughter were on a camping trip, as you said. And while there in their tent, a pretty strong storm came through the area in Choctaw County, Mississippi. As a result of that storm, a tree fell on the tent. And apparently, Mr. -- Lieutenant Sharp was able to hear the noise of the tree falling and rolled over and covered his daughter up with his own body. As a result of that, the tree fell on the tent and struck him in the head, and he was killed instantly.

BALDWIN: Wow. So he heard the noise of the tree and acted that quickly and saved his daughter. She's 9 years of age. How in the world is he she doing?

PALMISANO: Well, as far as her physical condition, she is in perfect condition. The rest is something we're just going to have to wait and see. Certainly, an emotional time for her, and so we are hoping for the very best for her, as well as her family.

BALDWIN: Knowing Lieutenant Sharp, was this something -- is this something that you're not surprised that he did this, this selfless act of throwing himself on his daughter?

PALMISANO: Not at all because during his career here, which -- as you said, he has been with us for 19 years now and worked his way up through the ranks. And in 1997, he was able to -- he responded to a fire -- a house fire where he climbed a ladder to the second story and removed an individual from that burning building.

Upon removing that individual, he was told by them that there was a dog inside the house. He again returned into the burning building and obtained the dog and removed the dog, as well.

So he's kind of -- he's been a hero from the very beginning that he's been with this department. Again in 2006, he had another instance where he responded to a house fire, observed an unconscious man in the back bedroom. He was able to break through the window and pull the man out. He was later revived. However, Lieutenant Sharp was treated for smoke inhalation and stayed in the hospital for about three days prior before he was released.

BALDWIN: Sounds like...

PALMISANO: I will tell that you Lieutenant Sharp throughout his entire career has been a...

BALDWIN: Been a hero.

PALMISANO: ... a hero as far as we're concerned.

BALDWIN: Well, you've lost a good one, and our thoughts, of course, with the family and with this 9-year-old little girl. Chief Richard Palmisano, thank you so much.

Coming up, the governor of Georgia -- here he is, just walking into the studio here to talk to me about the devastation across the state. We know he's spoken with President Obama. We'll talk about the urgent rush to get through the destruction. He's taken a helicopter tour. We'll talk about some of the efforts to save lives.

Plus, we are just hours away from the royal wedding in London, and in just the past couple of seconds, we've have gotten some new video of Prince William. There he is, shaking some hands in the crowds. The always unpredictable Richard Quest is standing by. Don't miss this.

But first, the governor of Georgia.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Tornadoes left wide paths of devastation in Georgia overnight. Nathan Deal is the governor of Georgia. And Mr. Governor, good to have you on. I hate the circumstances under which I'm talking to you, but I do want to begin with the latest numbers and see if they've changed at all. I have 14 dead in Georgia, seven specifically in Ringgold. Do those numbers hold?

GOV. NATHAN DEAL (R), GEORGIA: Yes, those numbers still seem to be appropriate, and we've been told that even though search and rescue is continuing, there are no known missing individuals.

BALDWIN: I know you have been in different parts of the state hardest hit on a helicopter tour. Where have you been? And describe what you saw with your own eyes.

DEAL: We started in northwest Georgia, up in the very northwest corner, in Dade County, the Trenton area, and then next door in Catoosa County, in Ringgold. Ringgold and Catoosa County had the largest number of deaths at seven. Dade County had two. There were multiple tornadoes that hit had the area. That's something that was very unusual. We think there may be as many as 11 or possibly more tornadoes that actually crossed the state of Georgia yesterday. That's a very high number.

BALDWIN: You look at the pictures, the damage. I mean, I'm actually a Georgia native born and raised, I have never, ever heard of something like this hitting the state. What was it like to actually see it in person, and also speaking with the some of the folks, I'm sure, on the ground, who live there, lost their homes?

DEAL: Well, it's always tragic, especially when you have loss of life. But most of them had a very good attitude. We had emergency workers, sheriff's offices, fire departments, just general citizens, local churches that were coming out and were helping their neighbors, and that's always encouraging.

BALDWIN: We heard from the president just a short time ago, speaking from the White House. He actually mentioned you, along with several other governors with whom he's spoken today. How was that conversation? And what are you asking the president?

DEAL: Well, I did have a conversation with the president on the phone this morning, and I appreciated the fact that he would talk with us about and express his condolences. I have declared 16 counties as emergency counties for our state. And as I told the president, we will be asking for federal assistance for those counties that are most severely affected. And obviously, we will begin that process with FEMA immediately.

BALDWIN: What's next? What does tomorrow look like?

DEAL: Well, a continuation of what's happening today, and that is clean-up efforts. We have Department of Transportation having the clearing of the roadways. We have the electrical utility companies trying to restore power. We have our emergency management agency, called GEMA here in Georgia. Their outreach all across the state is working effectively.

It's going to be a long, continued effort, but I want to assure the citizens of Georgia that we're going to make sure that things are restored as nearly as possible. And to those who've lost family members and friends, our sincere condolences.

BALDWIN: I tell you what, sir. There are a lot of people out there, some of whom who have tweeted me, saying how can I help? So, you know, speak to folks within Georgia and perhaps elsewhere, what can they do?

DEAL: I think the most appropriate thing is to contact the agencies in the local counties and communities that are affected.

BALDWIN: Okay.

DEAL: We have emergency response teams in those areas. And they can coordinate those efforts. When FEMA comes in, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, when they send their personnel in, they will be working with local community people as well.

BALDWIN: Tough stuff you saw today, huh?

DEAL: It was.

BALDWIN: Governor Deal, thank you.

DEAL: Thank you. BALDWIN: And we are still waiting to hear from Governor Robert Bentley there in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, one of the areas hardest, hardest hit. I believe the latest number in term of fatalities in Alabama, 184. We are waiting and watching to hear from them. We will bring it to you as soon as he steps from behind the podium. Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: And I want to take you live to Tuscaloosa. This is governor of Alabama, Robert Bentley. Take a listen.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

GOV. ROBERT BENTLEY (R), ALABAMA: -- not seen this to come and to look at it and to see what devastation has occurred with this probable F-4 or possibly an F-5 tornado. As we flew down from Birmingham, the tract is all the way down. And then when you get in Tuscaloosa here, it is devastating. And it's so hard on me as -- being from Tuscaloosa and loving Tuscaloosa like I do, it makes it even more difficult being the governor and seeing the destruction that we have here, seeing the loss of lives that we've had and seeing how people's lives have just been turned upside down.

Across the state, we have traveled today. We have not obviously gone to all the places, because there's so many places. We have had 18 counties that have been hit. Where we have fatalities, we have right now a total of 1 9 4 fatalities that we know. Now, those are confirmed fatalities, and we only confirm them if we have a medical examiner or physician confirm the death. It is not hearsay. We don't want to do any double counting. So, we have 194 across the state of Alabama. That is a major, major disaster -- natural disaster to hit any state, when you lose 194 people.

We have a lot of people that are injured, a lot of -- some people that are still missing. And of course, we are having updates every four hours on the number of deaths, the number of missing and the number of injured.

Early yesterday morning, when we saw the tornadoes coming into Alabama, I declared a state of emergency in the state. And then yesterday afternoon, we called out our National Guard as we saw the devastation as it began to develop across the state of Alabama. We made a request to the president that he send assistance to Alabama. We made that request. It was granted by FEMA last night, and we have with us today with us, Craig Fugate who is a representative here from FEMA who is with us today. And we are very appreciative of the president for doing this, and we are asking that they expedite this so that we can get the money as quickly as possible to come in and help the people who are hurting today.

We have had outstanding response across this state from first responders, and I just want to say how thankful I am to have people working with us in the state. Our EMA people, all our local responders, our fire departments, our local police departments, our national -- I mean, our DPS people, our troopers. All of these people. Our local sheriffs, everyone has pitched in. And as I go across the state, we see such cooperation, and I just want them to know how much we appreciate that.

As governor, it gives me a good feeling to know that we have people that are -- they care about each other, all of our first responders do such a fantastic job. Neighbors helping neighbors. We have faith- based organizations in this had state and they are doing a good job or volunteer organization.

So, we have made the responses that we believe that we should make and -- but we do also believe that we are going to have to have help from the federal government in order to get through this in an expeditious way. And we are very thankful that we have FEMA here with us today. And so, I want to tell them again how much I appreciate that.

But again, it's -- it is emotional. Last night, I spoke with the mayor. And I can tell in his voice the emotion, because I knew that it was affecting his hometown. And when I come in here, it affects me. It affects me emotionally, when I see it, when I fly over this, it is difficult. And so, I have to separate myself emotionally from this because I'm the governor of the whole state. But here again, this is my home. And so -- and I love the people of Tuscaloosa, and I appreciate them so much. And so it does make it difficult on me and on my wife.

Yesterday, I was going to do a press conference. I had to do one at 6:00 and it was right before this hit. And I was having to prepare for that, but I also knew that some of my children were across the river and it was headed right that way. And so, you know, as a parent, it makes you worry about your family, and I want to say I would like to reach out to all of the parents of students across the state who have students here at the University of Alabama, and I know the agony that they went through as they were trying to find out where their children were.

But we are going to get things under control. We are going to it on a statewide level. We are going to work together. But we are also going to ask for the assistance of the federal government. But we are going to get through this, because the people of Alabama are resilient. They care about each other. And we are going to get through this, and we are going to come out better on the other side.

But we need to keep in our prayers all those across the state who are injured and all those across the state who have lost loved ones. And we don't know yet that total number. Hopefully, we will know that in the next 24, 48 hours.

We have a number of people here with us today at a press conference. And I appreciate so much, we all work together on a state and a federal level, on the local level, we all work together. And so, I'm going to ask to come to the microphone and speak first Senator Shelby and we are so happy that -- to have him back. It is his hometown, just like it is mine. And then Senator Sessions, we are going to ask him to speak. And then Mr. Fugate, who is with FEMA, we are going to ask him to say a few words also.

So, Senator Shelby? SEN. RICHARD SHELBY (R), ALABAMA: Thank you. Thank you, Governor. Thank all of you for coming here today under very difficult circumstances. As the governor says, Tuscaloosa is my hometown, too. We care about everything.

I had the opportunity to fly down from Washington late this morning, early afternoon with Craig Fugate, who is the administrator of FEMA. We rode in a helicopter around Jefferson County, Tuscaloosa County, and I have never seen devastation like this in Alabama. I have seen pictures of hurricanes and so forth, but this is the worst I have seen right here in my whole town the whole way into Birmingham and other parts of state.

But you know, our heart goes out to the people who have lost their lives, a lot of them injured, a lot of them not accounted for yet. But we have to carry on. We are here to help. I'm pleased that we were working together to urge the president to declare this a disaster area, and he has. I'm also happy he is coming to Alabama tomorrow, and I'm hoping he will come to Tuscaloosa and see this devastation for himself because he can, as executive, he can do some things that we can't do.

There's no better way to see it then see what we've seen this afternoon. So, I'm here to help. I hate that it happened. I hate everything about it. We will carry on, and we will rebuild and we will be stronger. Thank you.

BALDWIN: Senator Shelby from Alabama. Tuscaloosa native, as you just heard. Also heard from the governor of Alabama, Robert Bentley, also from Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

The big piece of news, sad piece of news out of that he has now upped the fatality number to 194, 194 deaths in Alabama from these horrific storms. And he is trying to strike an optimistic tone, despite the devastation he has seen, saying we are get to get through this. People of Alabama are resilient and we have to come out on another side.

Marty Savidge has been talking to a lot of these people as well on the ground. He's near Birmingham and Pleasant Grove, Birmingham, Alabama. And Martin, for the people -- the lucky ones, we'll call them -- the folks who have survived, how are they doing today?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there is a lot shock. I mean, there's no question about that, Brooke. They feel very much like this is not the town that they remember. There are a lot of people who are right now - and admittedly, they're in a weak moment -- but they are wondering if they can rebuild and whether they want to rebuild here. Because they remember this town for what it was, which they say was a beautiful place, a great place, everybody so neighborly. Now they look at it, what it is, which is just absolutely gutted and devastated.

And the capricious thing about a tornado is that they hop-scotch and they swerve and they move. And as a result of that, you can have one home that slightly damaged, one home that's totally devastated and then you can have another home that is absolutely fine.

This street though, it wasn't that way. This was a half-mile-wide tornado, and it took out just about everything in its path, except when you get over to 8th Street. And there, I spoke to Beth Verden. And she talks about how normally when the storm comes, she likes to sit outside and watch it happen. Last night, she sensed something different. It was strange, she said. So, her and her husband went in the basement. And we pick up the story there with her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BETH VERDEN, SURVIVED TORNADO IN ALABAMA: The house started shaking. And the stuff start sucking out of the garage, and the garage doors lift and the back door lift to the basement. And we could hear everything upstairs moving around. You hear a roar. I mean, it is not like the train. It is just like continuous thunder. Or a continuous roar. And after it left, it came out. And the first thing we saw was Gary's house gone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: It wasn't just Gary's house that was gone. Every one of her neighbor's houses was either heavily damaged or completely gone. And s a result of that, Beth actually felt a certain sense of guilt. Why her? Why was their house spared on a street when everyone else lost everything?

She can't explain that today. There's a lot of people that can't explain things. Why did they leave 15 minutes before the storm? Why did others stay and think they could ride it out?

Decisions that meant the difference between life and death, Brooke, some people carry that guilt and they will, for the rest of their lives.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: It's tough to hear those stories but at least she is one of the survivors, at least there is federal assistance on its way. We heard from the governor, they are hoping as quickly as possible there to Alabama.

Martin Savidge, thank you so much. We will get right become to this unfolding tragedy in the south here in just a moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN (voice-over): But first, I do want to pass along some other stories here, including a suspected terror attack in Morocco, where an explosion lined ripped through a cafe full of tourists.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Also, we are just getting some pictures in from Prince William shaking some hands outside of Buckingham Palace on the eve of the big day. We're going to take you live to London, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BALDWIN: OK, so let talk about the royal wedding in less than 24 hours, Kate Middleton will be marrying her prince and become a member of Britain's royal family. Prince William was out and about shaking hands just outside of Buckingham Palace a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN (voice-over): Die-hard -- there he is. Die-hard royal watchers, they are out. They are camping out just to get a glimpse of the soon-to-be royal newlyweds.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: CNN's Richard Quest is outside Buckingham Palace, talking with some of them. There he goes. Go ahead.

RICHARD QUEST, HOST, CNNI "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS": We are lucky -- Brooke, we are lucky tonight, one of Australia and England's most famous artists and musicians, Rolf Harris is amongst the crowd.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Amongst the crowd. Have you seen the crowd?

QUEST: Have you seen the --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My God.

QUEST: Give us a quick bit of a warble.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bum. Now play your digeridoo, stu, play your digeridoo, stu, until the service is through, play your digeridoo.

BALDWIN: He is not going to the wedding, is he? Richard Quest, can you hear me amongst the cheering and is singing?

QUEST: Now, remember, this man, this man did a portrait of her majesty, the queen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's true. It's on a stamp now.

QUEST: It's on the stamp.

BALDWIN: Wow.

QUEST: Rolf, many thanks indeed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir Richard, good on you.

QUEST: Now, we are going to move in this direction, move the crowd, like Moses, the waters parted. Out of the way. All right.

BALDWIN: Where are you going, Richard Quest? You are walking away.

QUEST: This is where they are all sleeping tonight. Who is -- who regrets this idea now?

BALDWIN: Good thing none of them were sleeping.

QUEST: Come on -- it all seemed like such a good idea 10 hours ago, didn't it? Now it's -- that lot over there. You get the idea, Brooke. The atmosphere is phenomenal in the center of London.

BALDWIN: Didn't you do that 30 years ago? For the last wedding, you're in a sleeping bag?

QUEST: Thirty years ago for Diana and Charles. I found a little piece of pavement and I sat down. I was badly prepared. I had no water. I had no sleeping bag. I regretted it until -- but it was great moment. You're going to have a good night tonight? And -- I'm not even drunk. Just imagine what this atmosphere will be like in a few hours' time.

BALDWIN: Goodness, on that note, Richard Quest, thank you very much.

Coming up tomorrow, need I remind you, watch CNN's royal wedding experience, watch, DVR, participate, join Anderson Cooper, Piers Morgan, Kiran Chetry, Richard Quest, Cat Dealey as they bring you every unforgettable moment. We are live in London starting Friday morning at 4 a.m.

Now, look at this picture with me. This is hail. You can see the comparison next to the golf ball. These pictures are from someone in Stevenson, Alabama. I will speak with him. Look at this. Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: A terrorist attack in Morocco, at least 14 people were killed, 23 injured.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN (voice-over): Most of whom were tourists, when an explosion just lined this cafe in the city of Marakesh. The area is the heart of the country's main tourist committee destination. Still no word yet as to who was responsible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And as many as 1 million people do not have electricity still after last night's tornadoes want southeast. And that is -- that actually isn't over just for Alabama.

Erickson Sentell is one of them. He is in Stevenson, Alabama. And Eric, saw those pictures of the hail. Talk to me how massive these pieces of hail were.

ERIC SENTELL (via telephone): They were very massive. It hailed for a good 10 minutes. There were some the size of golf balls.

BALDWIN: At what point did the storm blow through where you were and what did you see? What did it sound like?

SENTELL: I guess that was probably close to about 4:30 in the afternoon when that came through. And the hail makes a very loud sound when it is that big hitting the ground. I literally thought trees were falling around us while it was hitting the ground.

BALDWIN: How is your neighborhood?

SENTELL: It is actually not too bad here. We have a few trees down in places, but as far as I know, no houses were messed up in the valley I live in.

BALDWIN: Given the size of the hail, guys, let's put that picture back up, given the size of the hail, how is your car?

SENTELL: It was actually OK. It was out while going on, and I ran and pulled it in the shed to hopefully keep it from getting dented up. I checked today and it seems to be OK.

BALDWIN: OK, Eric Sentell, I'm glad we were talking with you. Large sizes of hail, pieces of hail. Eric, thank you for calling n got to sneak a quick break in and then I will talk to Chad Myers about what's next. Hopefully nothing. Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: You know, we have some really great people at CNN just to work to help you help, if that makes sense and they are our impact your world folks.

If you want to help in the storm aftermath, you want to find some way you can assist, provide some sort of service here go to cnn.com/impact for that. And that is the web site that will pop up.

Back to you, Mr. Myers. We were just showing the pictures of that hail that was the size of a golf ball, but you're telling met reason it didn't shatter someone's windshield is because why?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Because it shattered itself, that's not a real golf ball-sized hailstone that you get in Kansas. That is called a composite hand stone. If you notice it is lumpy.

All those lumps are other hailstones glued together, all smaller hail stones, a little bit -- probably bigger than maybe your pinky fingernail or the end of your pinky anyway. You glue them together, when they hit something, they shatter. A real hailstone -- that wasn't real. A Kansas, Texas hailstone --

BALDWIN: That's the real deal.

MYERS: That's for real because it is all one piece. When you take a Texas hailstone and you cut it in half, you will see rings of a tree. That's how many times this thing has gone up and down and a baseball- sized hailstone could go up and down up to 100 times before it actually falls out of the sky.

BALDWIN: OK.

MYERS: Around and around and around. BALDWIN: I love that I always learn something new from you.

MYERS: I have useless knowledge.

BALDWIN: Your hail science explanation, but I do want to ask, gosh, you heard the numbers we heard from Governor Bentley saying, I think it was 194 latest number in terms of fatalities in Alabama alone. So please tell me that this storm system is going away.

MYERS: It is. It's absolutely going away. I can do better than that I can show. Take you over here and unless you are way off the coast or near the coast of North Carolina, you are now in the clear.

All of the watches have been cleared from the northeast, that last watch right there gone it is gone. And then here, we still have a little bit for tide water and then down into the coastal sections of North Carolina.

And possibly some severe thunderstorms around Jacksonville, moving to the east could possibly get as far south as Ocala, but it is getting to the ocean, when it gets to the ocean it will be all over, unless you are in a boat. But it will be all over for things and storms doing damage.

BALDWIN: And again, just quickly, if we can go back to weather knowledge and I was reading, what was it, 1974, that was 330-plus, the super outbreak, some 13 states, that's the biggest tornado outbreak in terms of fatal that's we have seen thus far, correct?

MYERS: That was Xenia, Ohio, and I visited Xenia, Ohio must have been in '94 for the 20 anniversary because I was working in Columbus at that time.

And Xenia, you could still see scars, 20 years later, you could still see places that didn't get rebuilt or didn't get put back together the way it was before they started.

And I think we will see this in Tuscaloosa. There will lab spot you can visit 20 years from now and go that is where the tornado was.

BALDWIN: Chad Myers, thank you so much. Hearts goes out to all the folks in these six different states who have lost lives and now I'm sure we will be on this tomorrow as well. That does it for us here in Atlanta. Thank you for watching. Now to Wolf Blitzer in "THE SITUATION ROOM." Wolf --