February 6, 2008
HARTSVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Tennessee emergency officials say the
death toll from storms across the state is rising.
Tennessee Emergency Management Agency spokesman Randy Harris says the latest reported fatalities in the state were in Moore County, along the Kentucky border northeast of Nashville.
He says about 150 people have been injured.
At least 13 deaths have been reported in Arkansas and seven in
Kentucky.
The twisters wiped out homes, shredded warehouses and damaged a mall near Memphis.
Eight students were trapped in a battered dormitory at Union
University in Jackson, Tennessee, until rescuers freed them.
Tornadoes had hit the campus in the past, and University President
David Dockery says students knew the drill when they heard sirens.
Dockery tells NBC's "Today" show the drills and planning "saved
those lives."
More than 50 students were taken to the hospital.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)