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CNN Sunday Morning
Tornado Victims Pick up the Pieces in Deep South
Aired November 25, 2001 - 07:15 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: At first, it was ominous roar coming from the sky; and before it was over, 10 people were killed and hundreds left homeless when a raging storm system ripped across the Deep South. Deadly tornadoes hit Arkansas, Alabama and Mississippi.
And we have two reports this morning. The first from CNN affiliate WMC in Memphis.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER (voice-over): Byron Robertson and his family didn't have much time before the tornado hit.
PERRY DAVIS, TORNADO SURVIVOR: I told my wife -- I told her, let the storm pass and we were strapped in underneath. And they gave us two minutes to get -- go for shelter and the next thing I knew, we were hit.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Byron was headed out of town. He had just enough time to kiss and hug his mother, Patty Mae Robertson. Patty was killed when the tornado ripped her home off its foundation.
DAVIS: I found my mom directly across the street there. She was dead when we found her.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was like an eerie, blowing, whistling sound. But it was very loud.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Susie Cook (ph) lost her mother too. Maggie Johnson was just 20 feet away from a concrete storm shelter when the tornado struck her house.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She had that coat on and had her flashlight, so she must have been going out the door.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Still, Susie (ph) and her sister, Joyce are grateful that they found their mother's purse and Bible. And even though Whitman County residents are faced with so much destruction, they're grateful for what they have.
DAVIS: It hurts; but it happens. It's happened here today. Look at New York, look how many families there were. At least we have some part of our family intact.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIE MAE HATTON, STORM VICTIM: Well, this is a normal night. I just lay down like I always.
JENNIFER WOODY, KTHV REPORTER (voice-over): But her quiet night was in a ruckus just hours later, when Willie Mae Hatton heard a sound like a freight train just outside her window.
HATTON: I knew what it was when I heard wheat. And I knew it wasn't no train way back this way. And I said, no, that ain't no train. I said this is up a tornado. And I just fell out of my bed.
WOODY: Willie Mae was showered with glass and debris. And as quickly as it came, the twister was gone.
HATTON: And I didn't have time to get scared, it happened so quick. About three minutes, it was all over.
WOODY: By that time, it was two in the morning.
CORLISS MCCAIN, WILMOT FIRE CHIEF: I come around...
WOODY: Fire Chief Corliss McCain responded to a call down the road.
MCCAIN: And there was people trapped in a house.
WOODY: John and Lois Perkins were asleep when the tornado ripped right their home.
MCCAIN: It went from here all the way over here on the other side, up under all that rubble.
WOODY: Amazingly, the elderly couple survived.
MCCAIN: They're very lucky. He's lucky that he only has a broken heel. And she got away with just cuts and bruises.
WOODY: But two miles away, another couple died from their injuries. The home of Herman and Ruby Connelly was lifted from its foundation. A dozen other buildings were destroyed. The damage more than anyone here expected to see this morning.
HATTON: That's all I know. All this was out here. And I sure didn't expect to see it this day.
WOODY: But Willie Mae says her belongings, which are scattered for miles, can be replaced.
HATTON: That's the main thing. I got my life.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLAWAY: And that was Jennifer Woody with our affiliate in Little Rock, Arkansas, KTHV. And just so you know, you may hear some reports today that four people died in Arkansas, but in fact, state officials now say the correct number is two. Two others died the day before the storm system, and the weather played no part in that.
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