Hundreds Flee Rising Waters in South : Storms Spawn Twisters; Snow Knocks Out Power in Midwest, NE

Severe thunderstorms in the South spawned tornadoes and caused flooding that forced hundreds to evacuate today, while thousands still had no power in the Midwest and Northeast after snow and ice storms pulled down power lines.

Flooding after as much as nine inches of rain closed schools today in parts of Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky and North Carolina.

One man apparently drowned in a high North Carolina river today. Traffic accidents on slippery roads have killed at least 11 people since Wednesday--four each in Kansas and Minnesota, two in Michigan and one in Missouri.

In Georgia, a tornado destroyed 15 homes and injured 10 people in Carrollton today, the National Weather Service said. And at least 300 people were evacuated today from Trion after as much as nine inches of rain fell.

Authorities could not determine if a dam on the Chattooga River at Trion had burst because “it’s 10 feet under water and the currents are so fast going across it that they can’t see the dam,” said Chattooga County Sheriff’s Deputy Tammy Owings.

An apparent tornado struck rural central Alabama today, tearing apart the Fire Department building in Enterprise and destroying several mobile homes at Cooper, Chilton County sheriff’s deputies said.

Frank and Judy Higginbotham were in their mobile home with their 9-year-old daughter when lights began flashing and everything started shaking about 7 a.m.

“All of a sudden the roof went one way, and the floor went the other way. I cradled my daughter to my chest, and we were blown through the wall into another room,” Higginbotham said.

Alabama’s Shelby County received more than nine inches in fewer than 24 hours, and 30 people evacuated from two trailer parks that were under six to eight feet of water had to be moved twice.

Ice and snow knocked out power to at least 42,000 customers in Illinois on Thursday, and 37,000 remained blacked out today. Outages were also reported in Indiana and Pennsylvania.

About 36,000 customers were without electricity today in Connecticut after snow and ice pulled down power lines, and Bradley International Airport outside Hartford was closed for seven hours during the night.

In New York state, at least 32,000 customers had no power today in the Buffalo area, utility officials said.