South Carolina damage
 HuffingtonPost.com by Mitch Weiss and Michael Bieseker(excerpts):  Lexington, NC - A day after deadly tornadoes struck the southwest, survivors looked for what they could salvage, huddled in loved ones' hospital rooms and shared stories of how they made it through the furious storms.  Some were also mourning.  People in a hard-hit North Carolina neighborhood marked the spot where a three-year-old girl's body was found with an American flag.  The little girl and her grandmother were among six killed in three states Wednesday.  The two were alone in a small house in a rural area south of Lexington when the storm hit, leaving behind only the foundation.  The house's splintered remains were scattered hundreds of feet.  The family's Dodge minivan ended up propped against a nearby tree, its windows smashed and roof caved in.  Firefighters and volunteers searched for the girl, whose name wasn't immediately released, for more than two hours before finding her buried in a pile of shattered lumber and furniture.  "She was just beautiful - big blue eyes and so sweet," said Maegan Chriscoe, whose daughter played with the young victim.  Elsewhere, the storms killed three people in South Carolina, and a Georgia motorist died when a tree crushed his SUV in north Atlanta.  Dozens more were injured across the region, scores of buildings were damaged, and thousands were without power.  Meteorologists confirmed Thursday that tornadoes had struck Louisiana and Alabama a day earlier and twisters were suspected in Mississippi, Georgia and the Carolinas.  "It looked like the 'Wizard of Oz,'" Henry Taylor said, describing a funnel cloud outside his home near Rock Hill, South Carolina.  "It was surreal, and for a moment, a split second, you say to yourself 'This ain't real,' then reality sets in, and you know it is."  The 50-year-old Taylor said he and his wife sought refuge in a closet as the storm roared.  Part of his roof was torn off, windows were blown out and trees had been snapped in two, but he and his wife escaped injury.  "I held my wife closely in the closet and I prayed.  I said, 'Oh my God, this is it.  I'm going to be buried in the debris.  We're going to die,'" Taylor said Thursday, wiping back tears.  

In Alabama, the National Weather Service confirmed that tornadoes hit communities in the western and central parts of the state and continued to assess a suspected twister that demolished mobile homes at a pair of housing parks near Auburn University.  The campus was spared major damage.  It was the worst bout of weather for the state since about 250 people were killed during a tornado outbreak in April.  

Commentary:  The Bible says we will experience storms, tempests and earthquakes in these last days, in that God is warning us that the return of Jesus is near.  It is time to get ready to face God.  "You will be visited of the Lord of hosts with thunder, earthquake, and great noise with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire" Isaiah 29:6.  Various parts of the world have experienced record breaking fires in the last two seasons; all of the prophecies are being fulfilled.  Jesus said that before His return there would be signs, "There will be great earthquakes in various places, famines and pestilences, and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven" Luke 21:11.  The Bible says, "Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" Acts 2:21.  If you haven't received Jesus as your Savior, please visit the How Can I Be Saved page of this site, while there is yet time to make that choice.