Following are select highlights of response activities and status reports following severe weather in the South and Midwest. Although the information was deemed accurate at the time of release it must be stressed that information was gathered from many sources and was prepared under difficult field conditions.
All assessments are subject to change.
Background - Severe weather, including heavy rains and tornadoes, swept through more than a dozen states on March 2 and 3, sending rivers over their banks and leaving at least one town in Arkansas flattened by a tornado. In some areas, rivers are still rising. The combined death toll from the severe weather tops 30. Severe tornadoes hit the state Saturday, cutting a path 250 miles long. The death toll in the state now stands at 25, with 399 injuries reported.