page_title: 2008 Super Tuesday tornado outbreak
section_title: Aftermath
hierarchical_section_title: 2008 Super Tuesday tornado outbreak / Aftermath
caption_attribution_description: U.S. President George W. Bush greets tornado victims at Lafayette, Tennessee neighborhood on February 8, 2008, and assures them they will receive help from the government.
context_page_description: The 2008 Super Tuesday tornado outbreak was a deadly tornado outbreak which affected the Southern United States and the lower Ohio Valley on February 5 and 6, 2008. The event began on Super Tuesday, while 24 states in the United States were holding primary elections and caucuses to select the presidential candidates for the upcoming presidential election. Missouri, Illinois, Arkansas, Alabama, and Tennessee were among the affected regions in which primaries were being held. Some voting locations were forced to close early due to the approaching severe weather.
  The outbreak generated 87 tornadoes over 15 hours from the afternoon of February 5 until the early morning of February 6. The storm system produced several destructive tornadoes in heavily populated areas, most notably in the Memphis metropolitan area, in Jackson, Tennessee, and the northeastern end of the Nashville metropolitan area.
  A total of 57 people were killed across four states and 18 counties, with hundreds of others injured. The outbreak, at the time, was the deadliest in the era of modern NEXRAD doppler radar, which was fully implemented in 1997.
context_section_description: On February 7 a federal disaster declaration was made by President George W. Bush for 11 counties in Arkansas and five counties in Tennessee. Sixteen additional counties in Tennessee requested federal aid, and on February 12, Tennessee Governor Bredesen announced that eight counties in Tennessee became eligible. President Bush also visited Tennessee to tour the devastated areas on February 8.
  The American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, the United Way and other charitable groups also quickly mobilized volunteers to assist survivors in the aftermath across the regions affected. In the three hardest hit Middle Tennessee counties alone, the Red Cross sent out over 100 volunteers to deliver meals and supplies. Emergency assistance was also offered by the Tennessee Department of Human Services for low income victims in the counties affected by the tornadoes. In addition, the Nashville Predators announced that for their game on February 7 against the Tampa Bay Lightning, half the ticket sales revenue would be donated to the American Red Cross to help with their efforts, and that fans could make additional donations to Red Cross volunteers at the arena's main entrances. The National Football League's Tennessee Titans along with the Mayor's Office of Emergency Management of Nashville organized a donation drive during the weekend of February 9 at LP Field.
caption: US President George W. Bush touring tornado-ravaged Middle Tennessee areas on February 8, 2008
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