in on the republican cd candidates who want to be president. >> announcer: from cnn world headquarters, bringing you news and analysis from across the nation and around the globe. live from studio 7, this is cnn saturday morning. we start now with the devastation across the midwest and the south. these are the scenes people are waking up to today. debris now sits where their homes once stood. at least 31 people are dead. a series of tornados are being blamed for the destruction. there are emergency declarations in place in indiana and kentucky. national guard troops have also been deployed there. before we take you live to indiana for the latest there, i want to show you now an amazing piece of video. it comes from west liberty, kentucky, shot just as the tornado was forming over the town. now, listen very closely to the desperate prayers from one woman as she pleased for her safety. >> take yourself away from our home. >> the prayers were answered. she did come through that storm safety. west liberty, however, was hit hard by the storm. at least three people died there. some of the worst damage we've seen is in indiana. cnn national correspondent susan candiotti is in henryville, indiana this morning. susan, what does it look like there? >> now that the sun is coming up, you can see even more of the crushing damage that has been suffered in this area. and as we speak, the governor of the state is being accompanied to this area coining some flyovers and is expected to be taking an on the ground tour of some of the heaviest damage where we are standing now. over my shoulder, that's the high school in henryville that has been torn to sleds by the tornado that swept through here. there is an elementary school that is attached to it that also is destroyed. this is the home of the hornets, right? the henryville hornets. the school sign reads, our hearts are full of hornet pride. people aren't going to let this get them down. but the realize is, you have a huge mess on your hand, starting with you. . this is dr. glenn rich. you are the elementary school principal and you were here when the storm hit along with, what, 40 or so students? >> i had about 40 students and staff. we were in the core of the building when the tornado hit and everyone was safe, no one was injured and it's just a blessing. we praise god. >> how is it that you weren't able to get out before the storm hit? >> we dismissed the students. we had about 700 students from the elementary and about 500 from the high school that we did dismiss. they were out of the building. this was the core remaining staff and then we have a day care facility that we had those students here and we moved all of those students then to the office. we had a couple of students that were brought back because the parents weren't home. bus drivers brought them into the building and we weathered the storm, literally. >> this must take your breath away. >> yes, ma'am. >> and we also also that along the storm damage, a lot of cars destroyed here, including yours. what happens to the grade school? >> we'll have to take that one day at a time and i'm just very happy my children are safe and with their families. >> also joining us is the superintendent of this district. this is -- i'm sorry, monte snyder. you had roughly the same number of high school students who also couldn't quite make it home. i understand there were parts of the high school that were meant to be safe areas that also wound up being destroyed, yet these students made it out okay along with staff members. >> along with dr. rigs, the best thing that happened with this, if there is a best thing, is that no one as school, teachers, staff and most importantly students were injured here. and it's a miracle that they weren't. if you look at the building and look at the buses around the building, and at our office in cellarsburg, about 10 miles south of here, we lost contact with them because -- we lost radio contact, landline and cell phone contact and heard of the damage here on the tv, the radio. and had no idea the extent, whether anybody was hurt for quite some time. so it was a very, very uneasy feeling for us in the central office. and just feel very fortunate. do you feel you had enough warning? >> i feel we had a lot of warning, we had it pulled up on our computers and all that. the last part of the storm formed so quickly that the actual tornado warning for clark county came out after we released the students here at henryville and, in a way, it's good that it was. if we would have kept the students here, much of the damage was -- almost 1200 students in the building with the elementary and junior high together and about a hundred staff members, i'm certain somebody would have been seriously hurt. >> and, dr. rigs, can you tell us, where were the kids hunkered down? and everybody would be fright.ed by this, but how did you calm them during the tornado? >> well, obviously, there was a lot of prayer. we were in the office core. we had three different rooms in this center of the building and we were all on the floors in the building. there were about 10 of us or so, 15 in one room, i think. we did a countoff, obviously, knew who was there. the children were wonderful. any core staff that were still in the building were just wonderful. there was a lot of peace being spoken to the children and they were just fine. >> was there crying? >> no, no, no child -- there wasn't any crying or anything. everyone was very, very peaceful. >> very happy that you all made it out and far too early to say where they are going to be holdsing classes once they gather together, right? >> that's true. >> still has yet to be determined. obviously, there is a lot of cleanup to do, david. >> that's right, susan. and still a lot of severe weather to keep an eye on. some new alerts going out. bonnie, what have you got for us? >> we have a brand new tornado warning in the same area we were tracking earlier, southwest georgia. unfortunate we have not done with the rifts for tornadic activity for today. i don't think today will be as bad as yesterday. let's zoom into area right now. it is for central wert county and south central georgia as well as southeastern daugherty county as well as northeastern mitchell county. so it's he compassing quite a large area, including the area of sylvester. this tornado warning is in effect until 8:15 and we also have more news to tell you. a brand new tornado watch has been issued. just lower the camera here. you can see that's this box right here and it covered three states. so you're getting a little bit of georgia, alabama and florida now in this tornado watch box. this goes until 2:00 today. so we could start to see here some very strong thunderstorms working there way through the panhandle of florida. if you're driving along i-10, you're probably starting to deal with these storms. take this seriously. in this region, we could see a tornado drop down at any time if we get a tornado warning. here is a closer look at some of the storms just to the east of mobile, alabama. and then northward, you can see quite a i bit of a swath of storms stretching across alabama and georgia. in georgia last night, a lot of tornado sirens were going off. and now that we have the light of day, we can see the damage. it's interesting to note -- thank goodness we didn't have any deaths in this part of georgia, but we certainly did see a lot of damg. you can see roofs completely torn off the home's foundation, looking inside the home there. these aerial pictures coming into us now. this is paulding county. but the tornado warning is in southwest georgia currently. unfortunately, david, we're not done yet. severe weather impacting southwest georgia. you're looking at pictures of northern georgia where there was tornado damage yesterday. >> bonnie schneider, keeping an eye on it for us. the fast-moving tornados up ended lives and homes in just seconds. cnn crews are spread out across the stricken region. we'll have much more on the damage from the storms, just ahead. plus, forget about super tuesday. there's actually a political contest today in the republican presidential race. washington state is making their presidential choice. we'll look at what's at stake, next. forty years ago, he wasn't looking for financial advice. back then, he had something more important to do. he wasn't focused on his future but fortunately, somebody else was. at usaa we provide retirement planning for our military, veterans and their families. now more than ever, it's important to get financial advice from people who share your military values. call now for our free guide and tips on planning for your retirement this tax season. sure. what flavor? 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[ female announcer ] discover what's next in your life. get this free travel bag when you join at aarp.org/jointoday. which heing now stories across country where many people in the midwest and south are trying to clean up after a severe weather outbreak that tore through several states, in ohio the number of those killed is now up to three. more than a dozen homes were devoid in one town along the ohio river. a power plant that services the area was also damaged. and the national guard has been called to help out in kentucky where 12 deaths have been confirmed in the wake of the storms. the governor has declared a statewide emergency in an effort to help local authorities gain access to state resources. finally, in indiana, several towns have been absolutely wiped out. the southern part of the state was among the hardest hit area. authorities stay at least 15 people were killed. and earlier, we took you to henryville, indiana. that's where susan candiotti was for a look at this morning's aftermath. but now i want to take you back to a few hours after the moment the tornado hit that town. watch now this report from jenny runavich from affiliate wthr. >> reporter: destruction, devastation, disbelief. in the tiny town of henryville torn apart by tornados. >> rain, harsh winds and everything. >> what we know is we have complete destruction. >> reporter: the storms simply decimated the area. there are injuries, there is death, there is serious damage here. trucks and tree necessary a tangled web of debris off i-65. a gas station ripped apart. henryville junior senior high school virtually flat.ed. the students were let out 20 minutes after the twister hit. that storm-battered school is in ernie hall's backyard. he says it was leveled in less than a minute. >> i see it coming over and i said, that is a tornado. i said, it's heading right this way, back there in the hallway and put the mattress up and prayed. >> reporter: three of them huddled in that hallway as the tornados ripped through. >> i could actually feel the wind looking at me, the roar, a loud roar. stuff up in the attic was just beating and pounding all over the place. >> reporter: they made it through the storm, but around town there are serious concerns for the missing. >> i have to go and find my mom. >> you're looking for your mom? >> my mom, my brother, my dad. >> we have formed search teams and we are searching those areas looking for people that may be trapped inside their homes. zlr in the midst of that chaos, there are stories of hope. >> we have milk, juice, chips, toothbrush, toothpaste. >> reporter: people getting supply toes survivors. family and friends that made it through. a community doing whatever they can to recover from this. >> mother nature unleashed her furry on us, but we're going to get through this. >> lives lost, communities devastated, revealing images from the deadly tornado outbreak across the south and midwest. our ireporters are sharing their images with us. that's just moments away. t you d it was greek. mmhmm. so is it greek or is it yoplait? exactly. okay... 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[ male announcer ] one pill a day. 24 hours. zero heartburn. we've got corporal ashley henson from the sheriff's department. tell us what you're seeing this morning. >> we have woken up to very extensive damage throughout the western portion of fallen county and we are currently trying to assess the damage and see where we are. >> and we're looking at some of the pictures right now. we're seeing some houses. they look like they have the roofs ripped off of them. the interior of the houses absolutely in shambles. what have you seen out there personally? >> well, we have gotten -- what we know now is we have two elementary schools that were damaged last night as well as our newly constructed airport along with multiple family residents throughout our county. >> and with those schools, this came through at a time when everyone was at home, so there was no problem with the kids being at school, right? >> right. fortunately school was not in session at the time and, you know, thank goodness there were actually no injuries or fatalities reported in the paulding county area. >> that is amazing to me, looking at some of this damage. and the fact that it was coming through in the middle of the night, people probably didn't hear the warnings until they could probably hearing the wind probably blowing the windows out in some cases. >> fortunately our local news coverage was excellent. i think that gave people an early warning as far as what was coming. >> well, this from paulding county, georgia. we're looking at those pictures looking so similar to what we're seeing in indiana, kentucky, throughout the south and west. so glad to hear that there are no reports of any fatalities or injuries. thank you so much for joining us this morning. >> thank you. >> and we're now going to join wthr for live coverage with what they're showing us right now. let's take a look. >> radar showing a lot quieter weather. i will tell you, though, some flurries across the northern stretch of the state. we have overcast low cloud cover keeping temperatures chilly, as well. it's 33 in bloomington. feels like this 20 degrees currently in cocoamo. it will be a markbly cooler part of the day. >> we're going to get back to them in just a second. right now, there are some incredible images that we're getting from yesterday's deadly tornado outbreak and they're actually coming from you, our ireporters. josh levs is now in the studio monitoring your i reports. josh, i've sure you've got no shortage of photos that's going to make us say, wow. >> and one place we've been talking about a lot today is in indiana, henryville with that tornado that was there spp some of the most powerful video that was there was from this ireport. take a look at this, with just west in borden, indiana. i'll tell you a little bit about this. this is from ireporter chad henson who tells us that he was let out of work early yesterday. that's one of the reasons i'm comfortable showing you this. in this case, they were told to leave the office and go home and take shelter. and he set up his camera as he was driving and he got this video. look how huge that tornado is. he estimated he was a couple miles away from it at the time. and as we know, that tornado there -- stay on this for a second. that tornado there went on to create a great deal of damage and destruction in the area. and this shot of it, because it's pretty much due west, a lot bit south and west of where that was of henryville, you're able to get a pretty broad sense of just how huge it was. as we're seeing images of damage and destruction from different parts of the country, there are other elements to these severe storms that have been coming through, not just the huge tornados, but some places have had massive hail storms. take a look at this hail. >> roll the power. >> stay on this. i'm going to tell what you we're seeing here. this is out of chattanooga. this is from our ireporter ted gottwald. you hear that term a lot, golf ball sized hail. but i've also seen close-ups of bits of hail people are holding in chattanooga and it is at least golf ball-sized hail. in some cases, it's larger. this just a couple of examples of what's coming in. before i go here, i want to give you a sense of what we've got on cnn.com, as well. we have images from all over the country that have been affected here. i'm going to slice through a few of these so you can get a sense of how many places and how many people have been affected through yao these states that we're talking to you about today. we're seeing destroyed homes, destroyed likelihoods, destroyed roads, impassable roads. real quickly, if you want to help people, go to cnn.com/impact. we have a section here focusing on helping victims. if you don't have photos or videos but you want to share your story, i'm on social media all day. i'm right here camped out in the news room. my blog is cnn.com/josh. share those stories, share your videos. it was taken in a safe way. david, these images are coming in more and more and, obviously, everyone has been affected this morning. >> josh, you're making a great point. safety first. this dangerous stuff. it's okay to take a picture of a tornado or video miles away. but don't do anything up close. >> and i refuse to show anything on the hair where everyone was in danger. in those cases where it was taken safely, our ireporters are everywhere. >> thanks a lot, josh. live from the impact zone, we'll take you to tennessee next to see how communities there are dealing with the devastation. stay with us. all energy development comes with some risk, but proven technologies allow natural gas producers to supply affordable, cleaner energy, while protecting our environment. across america, these technologies protect air - by monitoring air quality and reducing emissions... ...protect water - through conservation and self-contained recycling systems... ... and protect land - by reducing our footprint and respecting 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[ baby crying ] ♪ what started as a whisper ♪ every day, millions of people choose to do the right thing. ♪ slowly turned to a scream ♪ there's an insurance company that does that, too. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? ♪ amen, omen it's 27 minutes past the hour. welcome back. i'm david mattingly. thanks for starting your day with us. this stormy day. we now go back to bonnie schneider in the severe weather center. what's happening now? >> we are still tracking some very intense thunderstorms. a tornado warning that was in effect for southwest georgia has now expired. however, we can see tornado warnings issued for this part of the country throughout the day today. in fact, there