Rescuers in Florida are continuing to search for survivors after the state was hit by tornadoes.

At least 38 people are now known to have died, more than 250 were injured and 11 are still missing after a dozen twisters swept through central Florida.

Firefighters and sniffer dogs look for signs of life

Rescue helicopters, some equipped with infrared devices to detect body heat, flew over affected areas to try to locate other victims and assess the damage.

The US Red Cross had set up four shelters to house people whose homes were destroyed or damaged, estimated to number in the thousands.

President Clinton: "Our thoughts and minds are with the people of Florida" (28")

President Clinton has declared 14 Florida counties disaster areas, which means they are eligible for federal aid to repair the damage.

The president is due to visit the affected areas on Wednesday.

Some of the tornadoes may have had wind speeds as high as 210mph (338 kph), according to the National Weather Service.

"The whole roof was gone"

Fields were littered with roofs ripped from homes. Pink insulation and shiny sheet metal from mobile homes hung high in trees like giant confetti. Near one house, a red pickup truck was suspended in the branches of a tree.

Picking up the pieces

"I looked up and saw the stars. The whole roof was gone," Florida resident Eugene Walton said, "If you saw the house, you would wonder how we got out of there with our lives."

The twisters missed the Orlando area's three major theme parks - Walt Disney World, Universal Studios Florida and Sea World - which opened for business as usual.

The reports of people missing were scattered across the region. There were 23 deaths in Osceola County. Eleven others were confirmed dead near Sanford, in Seminole County about 20 miles northeast of Orlando. Three were killed in Orange County and one in Volusia County.

El Nino blamed

Twisters ripped through 14 counties

Tornadoes were reported from Daytona Beach on Florida's Atlantic Coast to the Tampa Bay area on the Gulf Coast.

The bulk of the stormy weather has moved up the East Coast of the United States. In neighbouring Georgia, floods closed roads and schools.

A BBC correspondent in Florida reports that the scale of the disaster - the worst since records began 50 years ago - seems certain to force a review of safety measures at trailer parks, which were worst affected.

By comparison with this storm, Hurricane Andrew killed 32 people as it tore through the Bahamas, south Florida and Louisiana in 1992.

A weather service spokesman said that the winter storm was partially caused by the wind patterns and conditions directed by El Nino.

The Pacific warm-water phenomenon is blamed for a number of unusual weather patterns around the world, including the series of storms in California that have caused an estimated $475 million (£290m) in damage.
 

Back to top | BBC News Home | BBC Homepage	©