Violent Storms Continue in N.C. as Region’s Death Toll Hits 21

Wind-driven rain and more tornadoes lashed North Carolina on Saturday as stunned residents throughout the Southeast picked up the pieces from an earlier storm that left at least 21 people dead and hundreds homeless.

One child was seriously injured when a tornado touched down in Rockingham County, N.C., but for the most part the latest storms did not measure up to the intensity of those the day before.

Seventy-five thousand customers of Duke Power Co. remained without power, and company officials said it might be Monday before service was restored.

A storm that struck the southern Baltimore area early Saturday uprooted trees with 78-m.p.h. winds. Heavy rain drenched the nation’s capital, Maryland and Virginia, where four people died when they were swept out of their vehicles in rain-swollen rivers.

Missing Canoeists Found

Elsewhere in Virginia, searchers found four canoeists who had been reported missing on the Rappahannock River.

Divers found the body of a 9-year-old at the bottom of a swollen drainage canal in Louisiana. The boy had fallen in while reaching for a stick.

Altogether, seven people were confirmed dead in Texas, four in North Carolina, three in Louisiana, two in South Carolina, four in Virginia and one in Oklahoma. More than 100 people were treated for injuries.

“The awesome power of these storms is unbelievable,” said Al Warlick of the North Carolina Department of Crime Control and Public Safety after he viewed the devastation from a helicopter. “It’s simply amazing we don’t have more fatalities and injuries.”

Warlick said 41 homes were destroyed and 59 more were severely damaged in the worst-hit areas. He said about 200 people in North Carolina were left homeless. Duke Power Co. officials said it might be Monday before service is restored to 75,000 customers.

In South Carolina, 75 homes were destroyed or damaged, officials said.

The weather eased up Saturday, with only isolated showers and a few thunderstorms in most parts of the Southeast. However, heavy rain, hail and 75-m.p.h. winds raked the hardest-hit sections of North Carolina, making a difficult job even harder for those cleaning up. At least two more tornadoes were spotted.

Record Low Temperatures

Heavy rain also was reported in New England and the mid-Atlantic states, and parts of the Midwest were chilled by record low temperatures and snow.

Milwaukee received six-tenths of an inch of snow Saturday morning--a record for the date and the greatest snowfall for the month since 1935. Madison, Wis., received a record for the date of half an inch of snow.

Light snow dusted Rochester, Minn., and up to an inch whitened northwest suburban Chicago.

Record lows for the date were set or tied early Saturday in 15 cities, including Bismarck, N.D., with 17 degrees.