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And we have delivered where people have asked for support, and we feel like at least we've addressed the problems that have come our way at this point. >> trying to do the best you can. i understand, doug, that a veteran of the iraq war who volunteered to help in bergen county said this destruction was worse than he ever saw during two tours of duty there in iraq. can you put into perspective the magnitude of this disaster? >> well, i think that, you know, we have had significant destruction in a lot of our small communities across the state. we have over 20 counties that have been affected by...

Scenes of devastation today stretch from the midwest to the mid-atlantic. tornadoes tore through north carolina and virginia yesterday, the third day of a deadly storm system. in all, 44 people have been confirmed dead, and officials fear that number will rise. it was the most violent spring storm in decades for north carolina, with reports of 62 tornadoes. the red cross has set up shelters in six states and they're housing hundreds of homeless survivors. joining ux by phone is doug hewell, director of the north carolina division of emergency management. doug, good morning to you. the question...

Make sure the people that need our help are getting our help. >> i'm looking at a tornado right now that's sweeping across an area that's littered with power lines. >> right. >> i know much power has been taken out, about a quarter million households without power at one point. how is the cleanup going with the power lines and getting things restored. >> reporter: at our peak we had as many as 250,000 families without power. we're told some of that has been restored. there will probably be several days before everybody is back on power like we want them to be. >> all right, doug hewell, direct...