At least eight dead after tornadoes slam NC

Raleigh, N.C. — Search-and-rescue crews combed through debris and people searched for loved Sunday, a day after a severe storm system whipped across North Carolina, killing at least eight people.By early Sunday, fatalities were confirmed in Bladen, Cumberland, Harnett, Lee and Wake counties, including three people killed at Stony Brook North mobile home park in Raleigh, authorities there said. One person died on Vault Field Road in Linden in Cumberland County.As emergency crews scrambled across the state to clear trees from roads and survey damage, no immediate toll on injuries was available, but the prospects were grim for areas badly hit.A child was seriously injured at Camp Lejeune and flown to Pitt Memorial Hospital in Greenville.Cumberland County authorities said they treated 50 people at field clinics and took 35 to local hospitals. Seven people were injured in Sampson County.

Crews were working to restore power to more than 100,000 people in North Carolina, including 85,000 Progress Energy, 24,000 South River EMC and 3,000 Dominion Power customers. In Cumberland County, 16,000 homes and businesses – half of Progress Energy's customers – had lost service.Gov. Bev Perdue said Saturday night that at least 20 counties sustained significant damage from tornadoes and that there were at least 62 unconfirmed reports of tornadoes across the state.Nearly 30 homes were damaged at Camp Lejeune's Tarawa Terrace II housing area.The storms cut a 20-mile-long swath of damage in Sampson County, cutting from N.C. Highway 242 through Bonnettsville and Clinton to the northeastern border with Wayne County. Homes, businesses and swine and poultry farms were damaged.Curfews were in effect until Sunday morning for storm-damaged areas in Fayetteville, Holly Springs and Roanoke Rapids.The worst damage in Fayetteville was in the Yadkin and Reilly road areas.Roanoke Rapids city officials said they were struck by two tornadoes, damaging at least 20 homes and businesses in the South Rosemary area. The Guardian Care Rest Home was damaged.In Sanford, a Lowe's Home Improvement Center was smashed by the storm, according to police and witnesses. None of the employees or customers were injured.The storm cut a mile-wide swath through Raleigh, snapping some trees in half and ripping others from the ground.Emergency crews, rescue workers and firefighters had surrounded a section of the Stony Brook North mobile home park piled high with trees and the remnants of dwellings. Guillermo Villela, 34, returned home to the park Saturday to find trailers pushed to the side of the road, damaged by trees and blown by the wind. He saw two young children trapped underneath large trees, and he fears the children are dead."I see a lot of disaster. It's bad," Villela said.Near downtown Raleigh, a tornado blew through South Saunders Street, snapping power lines and downing utility poles.Other areas with severe damage include neighborhoods surrounding Shaw University; the area of Buffaloe Road and New Hope Road; and Yonkers Road area.There were further reports of storm damage in Lee, Union, Caswell, Rowan, Johnston, Wayne, Guilford and Alamance counties, according to state public safety department spokeswoman Julia Jarema.Officials with the Federal Emergency Management Agency were expected to arrive in North Carolina Sunday, she said, to begin damage assessments.Perdue declared a state of emergency in North Carolina, as did officials in several counties, including Cumberland, Halifax and Wake

 At least eight dead after tornadoes slam NC