Alabama governor to address state on storm damage

(CNN) -- Less than a week after an epic outbreak of violent weather ripped across the South, officials in Alabama are still tallying the dead and trying to restore power.

The expanding scale of devastation wreaked by tornadoes that swept across the region has prompted Gov. Robert Bentley to deliver a live, statewide address on the impact of the storms Tuesday night. He is scheduled to make the speech during a joint session of the Alabama Legislature, according to a statement released Monday by the governor's office.

Precisely what the governor will say is unknown, however officials expect Bentley's speech will contain details about recovery efforts and damage estimates from recent status reports by the Alabama Emergency Management Agency (AEMA).

Since Saturday, the number of Alabama counties declared disaster areas by the federal government has more than doubled, from 17 to 36, according to AEMA. Search and rescue operations continue for missing victims and fatalities.

However, because of fluctuations in death tolls and injuries reported by counties across the state, the agency says it will no longer release them until all of the missing can be accounted for, and final totals of the dead and injured can be confirmed.

Storm recovery: How you can help

The agency's latest death toll from the storms, released Saturday, was 250. AEMA reported 2,219 injuries. The total number of people killed in five other states -- Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia and Virginia -- during Wednesday's storms was 89.

The latest death toll for all weather-related fatalities, including flash floods, in the past week in those states is 356, according to the most recent emergency management reports.

Meanwhile, the number of customers that remain without power in Alabama has been cut by nearly two-thirds, from 1.1 million to around 407,000, according to an AEMA reported released Monday. It could be another week for power to be restored in some places such as Cullman County in north central Alabama.

There are currently 17 shelters serving 419 displaced people around the state. However, emergency responders say the actual number of people rendered homeless by the storms is certain to be much higher because that total does not reflect the number of people who've been taken in by family and friends.

Alabama poultry producers claim to have lost more than 2 million birds because of the storms, according to emergency management officials.

CNN

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