The death toll from severe storms that punished five Southern U.S. states jumped to a staggering 194 Thursday after Alabama canvassed its hard-hit counties for a new tally of lives lost.
The fierce storms Wednesday spawned tornadoes and winds that wiped out homes and businesses, forced a nuclear power plant to use backup generators, and prompted the evacuation of a National Weather Service office.
Alabama's state emergency management agency said it had confirmed 128 deaths, up from at least 61 earlier.
Mississippi officials reported 32 dead in that state and Tennessee raised its report to 14. Another 11 have been killed in Georgia and eight in Virginia.
The National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., said it received 137 tornado reports around the regions, including 66 in Alabama and 38 in Mississippi.
One of the hardest-hit areas was Tuscaloosa, a city of more than 83,000 and home to the University of Alabama. The city's police and other emergency services were devastated, the mayor said, and at least 15 people were killed and about 100 were in a single hospital.
A massive tornado, caught on video by a news camera on a tower, barreled through the city late Wednesday afternoon, leveling it.
"What we faced today was massive damage on a scale we have not seen in Tuscaloosa in quite some time," Mayor Walter Maddox said.
The Browns Ferry nuclear power plant about 30 miles west of Huntsville lost offsite power. The Tennessee Valley Authority-owned plant had to use seven diesel generators to power the plant's three units. The safety systems operated as needed and the emergency event was classified as the lowest of four levels, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said.
Photos of the utter destruction begin below and continue on the following pages.
A tornado moves through Tuscaloosa, Ala. Wednesday, April 27, 2011. A wave of severe storms laced with tornadoes strafed the South on Wednesday, killing at hundreds and splintering buildings across swaths of the Alabama university town. (AP Photo/The Tuscaloosa News, Dusty Compton)
Homes and businesses are completely destroyed along 15th St. in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Wednesday, April 27, 2011. (AP Photo/The Tuscaloosa News, Dusty Compton)
The Forest Lake neighborhood is completely destroyed in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Wednesday, April 27, 2011. (AP Photo/The Tuscaloosa News, Dusty Compton)
Cars are flipped and buildings are destroyed along 15th St. and the surrounding neighborhoods in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Wednesday, April 27, 2011. (AP Photo/The Tuscaloosa News, Dusty Compton)
Bystanders look on at storm damage along 15th Street in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Wednesday, April 27, 2011. A strong tornado moved through the city Wednesday afternoon. (AP Photo/The Tuscaloosa News, Dusty Compton)
Concrete steps lead to remains of a tornado demolished mobile home in Preston, Miss., Wednesday, April 27, 2011. The home and one next to it were blown about 100 feet away into a cow pasture. Three related women died at the site. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
John Segars' Heating and Air was destroyed in Concord, Ala. after what appeared to be a tornado ripped through parts of the town, late Wednesday, April 27, 2011. The damage in the area is extensive with homes and businesses destroyed and people injured. (AP Photo/Birmingham News, Jeff Roberts)
Residents survey the destruction after a tornado hit Pratt City, Ala. just north of downtown Birmingham, Ala. on Wednesday, April 27, 2011. A wave of severe storms laced with tornadoes strafed the South on Wednesday, killing hundreds and splintering buildings across swaths of an Alabama university town. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
Rescue workers search a hillside after what appeared to be a tornado ripped through parts of Concord, Ala., Wednesday, April 27, 2011. (AP Photo/Birmingham News, Jeff Roberts)
The Forest Lake neighborhood is completely destroyed in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Wednesday, April 27, 2011. (AP Photo/The Tuscaloosa News, Dusty Compton)
Homes and businesses along McFarland Blvd. are completely destroyed in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Wednesday, April 27, 2011. (AP Photo/The Tuscaloosa News, Dusty Compton)
A misplaced dog is seen among debris in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Wednesday, April 27, 2011. A wave of severe storms laced with tornadoes strafed the South on Wednesday, killing at least 16 people around the region and splintering buildings across swaths of an Alabama university town. (AP Photo/The Tuscaloosa News, Dusty Compton)
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