Some heard tornado sirens, but didn't take cover

Reynolds knows now that he should have heeded the warnings. A tornado tore off the roof of his home in the town of Bradford and tugged his house off its foundation, forcing Reynolds, his two boys, and one of their girlfriends to rush into the front yard and duck into a ditch.

All four survived without injuries, but the cluster of tornadoes destroyed more than 1,000 buildings in western Tennessee.

Officials say some residents disregarded the warning sirens that go off frequently during spring thunderstorms. Other neighborhoods were too remote to hear the sirens. And in some cases, the tornadoes struck too quickly after the warnings for people to take cover.

Governor Phil Bredesen, who surveyed the damage yesterday, said he is ambivalent about the warning sirens. ''If they work right, they're obviously a lifesaver. On the other hand, you worry that either they won't go off, or they go off so often that it becomes crying wolf," Bredesen said. ''I mean, when's the last time you heard a car alarm going off and you said, 'Oh my God, there's someone breaking into a car!' "

A meteorologist said at least one tornado in hard-hit Dyer County appeared to be an F-3 on the Fujita scale used to measure a twister's strength, with winds from 158 to 206 miles per hour, strong enough to tear down walls.

Dyer County's emergency management director, James Medling, said in some cases, a warning would not have helped. ''Most of the fatalities occurred in those homes that were wiped completely off, and there's just not a lot you can do unless you're underground in a basement," he said.

Dyersburg Police Chief Bobby Williamson said he can't hear the sirens in his rural neighborhood. He knew to duck into a closet while the storm rattled his house only because of warnings on television and the threatening skies.

''I'm just thankful we're alive. That's all that matters," he said. ''I can get a new house, but some people are going to a funeral."

John Tanner, a Democrat who represents Tennessee in the US House and accompanied Bredesen on the tour, said his cousin was killed by a tornado that destroyed her home near Newbern.

''When you have 20-something fatalities, that's just a number. This really puts a face to it," said Tanner, who was visibly shaken.

The buzz of chain saws filled the air during the governor's tour as neighbors worked to clear debris and patch roofs. Electric crews erected new utility poles.

People spray-painted numbers on their houses because street signs had been blown away, and they set up makeshift pens for livestock.