PRAY FOR THE PEOPLE OF THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES

From Yahoo News:

Firefighters searched one splintered pile after another for survivors Thursday, combing the remains of houses and neighborhoods pulverized by the nation's deadliest tornado outbreak in almost four decades. At least 290 people were killed across six states — more than two-thirds of them in Alabama, where large cities bore the half-mile-wide scars the twisters left behind.

The death toll from Wednesday's storms seems out of a bygone era, before Doppler radar and pinpoint satellite forecasts were around to warn communities of severe weather. Residents were told the tornadoes were coming up to 24 minutes ahead of time, but they were just too wide, too powerful and too locked onto populated areas to avoid a horrifying body count.

"These were the most intense super-cell thunderstorms that I think anybody who was out there forecasting has ever seen," said meteorologist Greg Carbin at the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla.

I was at a meeting for most of the evening, and I had no idea such loss of life and devastation had taken place. Lord have mercy!

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks prayer in response to natural disaster. (Edited)

Adon ha-olamim, Sovereign of the universe,

We join our prayers to the prayers of others, for the victims of the the tornadoes in the Southeast, which have brought destruction and disaster to many lives.

Almighty God, we pray You, send healing to the injured, comfort to the bereaved, and news to those who sit and wait. May You be with those who even now are engaged in the work of rescue. May You send Your strength to those who are striving to heal the injured, give shelter to the homeless, and bring food and water to those in need. May You bless the work of their hands, and may they merit to save lives.

Almighty God, we recognise how small we are, and how powerless in the face of nature when its full power is unleashed. Therefore, open our hearts in prayer and our hands in generosity, so that our words may bring comfort and our gifts bring aid. Be with us now and with all humanity as we strive to mend what has been injured and rebuild what has been destroyed.

Ken Yehi Ratzon, ve-nomar Amen.
May it be Your will, and let us say Amen.

From Beliefnet.

UPDATE: If you'd like to help, Episcopal Relief and Development is working with churches and dioceses in the areas affected. I know from past experience with hurricanes that the Salvation Army is quite often amongst the first of the large organizations on the spot to give help.