Tornadoes battered the midwest, devastating the community of Washington, Illinois.
A tornado has battered northern Italy, causing millions of dollars worth of damage in two provinces near Bologna, and injuring at least 12 people.
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After the firestorms that swept the West amid a merciless drought and the killer tornadoes and freak storms that battered the Midwest, South and East Coast, Sandy is just 2012's latest screaming reminder that our weather is becoming a much more destructive force.
"We've taken our share of blows," said Bill Ghent, an insurance agent who stood on Thursday staring at his own battered house in a neighborhood of houses battered by a system of violent tornadoes that swept through the Midwest and South this week leaving at least 13 dead, 6 of them just blocks from Mr. Ghent's house.
One of my friends, watching the devastation unfold in real time, said, "It's as if Tacloban was battered by the Fukushima tsunami and tornadoes from the American Midwest combined".
Thirty-four tornadoes were reported from Texas to Mississippi on Tuesday, prompting Gov. Phil Bryant of Mississippi to declare a state of emergency after several counties were battered by storms, including a twister that destroyed homes in Pearl River County, said Danny Manley, the county's emergency management director.
A tornado has hit 24 homes and a bolt of lightning has struck two properties as severe weather battered Wales overnight.
Outside, it looked as if a tornado had hit: a house that had once stood about a hundred feet down the block now rested across the street, battered and askew in a field.
