ASKEWVILLE, N.C. (AP) — A tornado-spewing storm system that killed at least two dozen people across half the country unleashed its worst fury on North Carolina, where homes broke apart, trees snapped, and livestock were swept into the air.
Residents in the capital city and rural hamlets alike on Sunday mourned the dead, marveled at their own survival, and began to clean up devastated neighborhoods.
Observers reported more than 60 tornadoes across North Carolina on Saturday, but most of the state's 21 confirmed deaths occurred in two rural counties. A thunderstorm spawned a tornado that killed four people in southeastern Bladen County, then kept dropping tornadoes as it hopscotched more than 150 miles, eventually moving into Bertie County and killing 11 more.
The violent weather began Thursday in Oklahoma, where two people died, before cutting across the Deep South on Friday and hitting North Carolina and Virginia on Saturday. Authorities said seven people died in Arkansas; seven in Alabama; seven in Virginia; and one in Mississippi.
More than 240 tornadoes were reported from the storm system, including 62 in North Carolina, but the National Weather Service's final numbers could be lower because some tornadoes may have been reported more than once.
Saturday was North Carolina's deadliest day for tornadoes since 1984, when 22 twisters killed 42 people and injured hundreds. The state emergency management agency said it had reports of 23 fatalities from Saturday's storms, but local officials confirmed only 21 deaths with The Associated Press.
An aerial photo shows some of the approximately 30 houses severely damaged or destroyed by a tornado in the St. Andrews neighborhood just south of Sanford, N.C., Sunday, April 17, 2011. (AP Photo/The News & Observer, Thomas Babb)
Mary Grady sits in her neighbor's yard where she rode out a tornado in Askewville, N.C., Sunday, April 17, 2011. Her home was destroyed in the storm. (AP Photo/Jim R. Bounds)
A tornado knocked down these large electric transmission towers on Valley Stream Dr. in Raleigh, N.C. on April 16, 2011. (AP Photo/News & Observer, Chris Seward)
A man inspects damage to his sister's car in Askewville, N.C., Sunday, April 17, 2011 after a tornado hit the area on Saturday. (AP Photo/Jim R. Bounds)
Venita Lee inspects her home in Askewville, N.C., Sunday, April 17, 2011 after a tornado moved through the area Saturday. Rescue crews searched for survivors in wind-blasted landscapes Sunday in North Carolina. (AP Photo/Jim R. Bounds)
Deborah Dulow cleans up her father house in Askewville, N.C., Sunday, April 17, 2011 after a tornado moved through the area Saturday. Rescue crews searched for survivors in wind-blasted landscapes Sunday in North Carolina, the state hardest hit by a storm system that spawned dozens of tornadoes from Oklahoma to Virginia and left dozens dead. (AP Photo/Jim R. Bounds)
An aerial photo shows tornado damage at the Lowes Home Improvement Center in Sanford, N.C. Sunday, April 17, 2011. Managers were credited with moving customers to the back of the store, preventing loss of life. (AP Photo/The News & Observer, Thomas Babb)
Lowes Home Improvement employee stands in the parking lot of there store after it was hit by a tornado in Sanford, N.C., Saturday, April 16, 2011. In the Lee County town of Sanford, a Lowe's store was smashed by the storm. "The Lowe's Home Improvement has been flattened," said Monica Elliott, who works at the nearby Brick City Grill. "It's totally destroyed." (AP Photo/Jim R. Bounds)
Emergency personnel searches cars in the parking of Lowes Home Improvement after it was hit by a tornado in Sanford, N.C., Saturday, April 16, 2011. Homes and businesses were badly damaged Saturday by a severe storm system that whipped across North Carolina, bringing flash floods, hail and reports of tornadoes from the western hills to the streets of Raleigh. (AP Photo/Jim R. Bounds)
A minivan is upended at a home in Dunn, N.C. on Sunday, April 17, 2011. A tornado-spewing storm system that killed at least 45 people across half the country unleashed its worst fury on North Carolina, where residents in the capital city and rural hamlets alike on Sunday mourned the dead, marveled at their survival and began to clean up devastated neighborhoods. (AP Photo/The News & Observer, Shawn Rocco)
People clean up in Askewville, N.C., Sunday, April 17, 2011 after a tornado moved through the area Saturday. Rescue crews searched for survivors in wind-blasted landscapes Sunday in North Carolina, the state hardest hit by a storm system that spawned dozens of tornadoes from Oklahoma to Virginia and left dozens dead. (AP Photo/Jim R. Bounds)
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