Tornadoes devastate southern U.S.

A tornado last week devastated the community of Phil Campbell, Ala., causing severe property damage and several deaths./ AP

Property owners across 14 states are picking up the pieces left by more than 130 tornadoes that pounded the South and Midwest last week, killing about 300 people and leaving a swath of ruined property.

Preliminary reports indicate as many as 10,000 buildings were destroyed in the affected areas, putting insured property damage loss estimates between $2 billion and $5 billion, according to catastrophe modeling firm EQECAT Inc.

Among the most heavily damaged areas, Tuscaloosa, Ala., was hit by a massive funnel cloud that destroyed parts of the town and interrupted business operations in the region.

Published reports said car manufacturers Toyota Motor Corp. and Mercedes-Benz U.S. International suffered an undetermined amount of damage and halted production at their Alabama plants. The University of Alabama's campus in Tuscaloosa sustained minor damage.

The Tennessee Valley Authority experienced “major widespread damage to our transmission systems” in Mississippi and northern Alabama due to the storms, said William R. McCollum Jr., the Chattanooga, Tenn.-based utility's chief operating officer.

—By Michael Bradford and Matt Dunning