Napolitano surveys Joplin damage

Homeland Security head Janet Napolitano visits of tornado-ravaged cityShe says the Obama adminstration won't leave "until the job is finished"FEMA has approved $20 million to assist victims of severe weather

(CNN) -- U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano toured Joplin, Missouri, Thursday and pledged to help residents rebuild the tornado-ravaged city.

"We will not leave until the job is finished," she said in a statement, "and we will continue to support our team of federal, state, local and community partners that are working tirelessly to help the people of Missouri rebuild their communities."

Napolitano toured the areas damaged by the May 22 tornado with Gov. Jay Nixon and Rep. Billy Long. She also met with hospital leadership working in the temporary medical facility set up at St. John's Mercy Hospital.

The secretary also met with state and local leaders and other government officials to discuss plans for recovery efforts.

FEMA has approved $20 million to assist families and individuals, according to a statement released by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Authorities are still assessing damage from the tornado, which left much of the city of splinters. Last month the Eqecat catastrophe risk modeling firm estimated the disaster caused up to $3 billion in damage to the city of about 50,000 people.

At least 151 people were killed in the storm, Assistant City Manager Sam Anselm said Thursday. That makes it one of the deadliest twisters since modern record keeping began in 1950.

Napolitano says the Obama administration remains dedicated to helping Joplin and other Missouri communities hit by the storm.

Napolitano isn't the only federal official to visit Joplin after the tornado; President Barack Obama and FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate also visited the city the day after the tornado hit.

CNN's Molly Green contributed to this report.

CNN

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.

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NASA to check shuttle for hail damage

Shuttle crew arrives for dress rehearsalSTORY HIGHLIGHTSNEW: NASA official says the storm caused minor damage to EndeavourThe storm blew in at about 5:20 p.m. WednesdaySpace shuttle Endeavour is scheduled to launch on April 19 for its final flightRELATED TOPICSSpace Shuttle EndeavourNASAKennedy Space Center (CNN) -- A powerful storm including a lightning strike in the launch pad area caused minor damage to the space shuttle Endeavour, a NASA official said Thursday.

Continuing bad weather has prevented further inspection of the shuttle scheduled to launch on its final mission on April 19, said Allard Beutel, a spokesman at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

The storm Wednesday included a wind gust of 90 miles per hour at launch pad 39A, as well as a lightning strike "inside the pad perimeter," Beutel said.

"We didn't take a direct strike on the pad," Beutel said. "Anytime you get that much electricity inside the perimeter you have to check things."

NASA officials so far know of minor damage to insulation foam at the top of the shuttle's external fuel tank, according to Beutel, who said a full assessment of damage won't be possible until further inspections take place.

NASA says the storm that included high winds, lightning and hail blew in at about 5:20 p.m. Wednesday.

"No one was injured and initially no obvious damage was observed. The storm moved through the area quickly," said a NASA news release Wednesday.

Endeavour is scheduled to blast off to the International Space Station on April 19. The space shuttle's six astronauts are at the Kennedy Space Center for their launch dress rehearsal.

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