Rescue efforts continue after storms kill 20

Search efforts resumed amid fresh rain today across a swath of central Florida devastated by tornado-bearing thunderstorms that killed at least 20 people, including a high school girl struck by a tree as she lay in bed.

President George Bush declared four counties disaster areas, freeing federal aid for recovery from the storms that struck yesterday, spawning at least one tornado that ripped roofs and walls off single family homes and threw mobile homes off their foundations.

The twister hit between 3 and 4am local time, when few people were awake to hear the tornado warnings broadcast just minutes in advance. Few communities in the region have warning sirens.

The storms blew a tree into 17-year-old Brittany May’s bedroom, killing her, her stepmother said.

Governor Charlie Crist toured the battered areas today in Lady Lake, about 50 miles north west of Orlando, Florida.

Thirteen people had been confirmed dead in the Paisley area plus seven in Lady Lake, about 30 miles to the west, emergency officials said. Among the seven identified were Brittany, five women ranging from 66 to 81 and a 20-year-old man.

State emergency management chief Craig Fugate said determining the exact number of dead could take days, and the priority was finding survivors who may be trapped under rubble.

Rescue workers going house to house searching for survivors found people who watched their homes disintegrate around them.

The wind picked up one tractor-trailer rig and slammed it down on top of another one. A church built to withstand a Category 4 hurricane was destroyed.

National Guard troops distributed blankets, food and water. About 1,500 homes and businesses were still without power today, said Buddy Eller, spokesman for Progress Energy Florida, which serves 1.7 million customers. He said he expected power would be fully restored by the end of the day.

The Volusia County Property Appraisers Office put preliminary damage estimate at $80m and said as many as 500 properties were damaged.

It was the second-deadliest tornado in state history, behind five twisters in February 1998 that killed 42 people in central Florida and damaged or destroyed about 2,600 homes and businesses.