[Fredricka Whitfield, Cnn Anchor:] You're in the CNN NEWSROOM this Saturday March 3rd. I'm Fredericka Whitfield. So much damage from a deadly storm system crossing a whopping 15 states. The destruction spans from the Gulf of Mexico to the great lakes and beyond. And 97 tornado reports are coming in from 11 of those states. More than 30 people have been killed in this monster storm. Rescue crews are combing through the rubble looking for survivors. Don Benton is one of those who made it through the storm in Tennessee. His house did not.
[Don Benton, Home Destroyed By Tornado:] Definitely I thank the lord for sparing as many people as he had. And I know these things can all be replaced. But like everyone else here, it's going to take a while. It's going to take a lot of construction to help out.
[Whitfield:] It's important to note that this destruction storm system is not over yet. It's hitting parts of the deep south right now. We'll have more on that in a moment. All right, in the meantime, BP will pay about $7.8 billion to settle lawsuit with victims of the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Thousands of fishermen, hotel owners, and Gulf coast residents will get a payout. In April of 2010 the Deep Water Horizon oil rig exploded killing 11 people and causing the worst oil spill in U.S. history. And gas prices are going up again. The average price of a gallon of regular jumped more than a penny and a half in the last 24 hours. It's now nearly 3.76 a gallon, almost 30 cents more than last month. AAA says today's surge marks the 25th straight increase. The Republican presidential candidates hope to build some momentum today that will carry them into Super Tuesday. Washington state is holding its caucuses right now. Ron Paul is the only candidate still campaigning there. The other three hopefuls have moved on to Ohio. It's one of 10 states holding primaries or caucuses on Tuesday. All right, back now to our top story, the trail of destruction left by suspected tornadoes and severe storms. Josh Levs joins us now with pretty incredible video that's coming into us right now.
[Josh Levs, Cnn Correspondent:] Hi there, again, Fred. It's just into us in the NEWSROOM. We have been following images throughout the day. This is some of the most dramatic we have seen at all. Let's first take a look at this video clip and I'll tell you a little bit about it.
[Levs:] OK. So this is the set-up. This is inside a gas station in Henryville, Indiana, as tornadoes were coming through the area. There's a man who you'll meet in a moment who was inside that gas station at the time. Certainly he was not aware there were going to be tornadoes. And he saw that from inside. Then he steps outside and you and I will now watch the next video together. Take a look. Absolutely amazing. We're going to stay on this and I'm going to tell you a little bit about it. So Mike Kaiser was inside this gas station. He said there had been some tough weather throughout the week. He was not aware there would be tornadoes there that day. He had just gotten inside the gas station when he saw the tornado that you and I saw just before, what looked like from the inside. Then he steps outside afterwards and sees this wreaking havoc, bringing so much destruction. And, folks, Henryville, Indiana, is one of the major places we have been talking to you about that was stricken by this. When he stepped outside, that is what he saw. It's absolutely stunning. And here's a little bit of what he had to say about that.
[Mike Kaiser, Resident Of Henryville, Indiana:] The vehicles on 160 were being turned over in front of us. We saw the marathon station across the street completely leveled. Nothing left of it. It then kept moving to the east and then you could tell with all the turbulence.
[Levs:] And he also mentioned if he had been in the gas station directly across the street, he wouldn't have survived because it was flattened. This is a good example of the randomness we hear about with the tornadoes. The gas station he happened to be into was affected but people there survived. He said the one directly across the street had very much the opposite effect. And as we know, Henryville took the brunt of the storm. This is one of the places we're talking about. I have some pictures. I also want to remind folks that we're looking at devastation throughout the entire region. This picture behind me up at CNN.com looks at Madison County, Alabama, on Friday. And I'll go through a few of these quickly. And as you know, we have been getting images throughout the day. We're seeing destroyed homes, businesses, roads impassable. People's livelihoods are gone in a great many cases. Obviously this is the kind of thing we see in the wake of storms, but rarely, Fred, do we see the kind of thing we see in that video.
[Whitfield:] Wow, those images are extraordinary. And images from that gas station point of view, I can't believe he had the wherewithal to stand there and take that remarkable video. He was still and he seemed like he remained calm throughout. I'm glad he's OK. Thanks so much, Josh. In the meantime, let's take a look where the storm system might be right now and where it may be headed next. That storm system stretches in a line from north Florida through Georgia to the Carolinas. Take a look at the damage left behind already in Charlotte. The National Weather Service says a tornado ripped through part of that city. According to a fire department official at least three people were injured. Let's get a check in on where this system is heading next, Jacqui Jeras, because we're not completely out of the woods as yet. It still has more potential for damage.
[Jacqui Jeras, Ams Meteorologist:] Yes, there's a lot of danger out there still today for wind damage, which they think will be more of an issue today than actual tornadoes, and the other threat today is going to be flash flooding. We're getting a tremendous amount of rain with these storms. First and foremost, we have a new tornado watch. This was just issued at the top of the hour. Here you can see it across northern parts of Florida into southern Georgia, just south of Savannah, including Brunswick, over toward Jacksonville, Florida, and stretching toward Tallahassee. And this is the main line we're going to be concerned about in the upcoming hours. This is going to last all afternoon long. This is going to go into the evening, and this watch doesn't expire until 8:00. But I do think today is a different animal so to speak than what we dealt with yesterday. We're not expecting the large destructive long track tornadoes. But these tornadoes will very often what will happen today, they're very difficult to see. You may not know they're there. So when the sirens go off and the warnings are let out, make sure you take cover. And take a look. We've got a couple of warnings right now. One includes Waycross. These are Doppler indicated tornadoes. We're seeing rotation within these storms, but haven't seen any spotters on the ground. But they could drop at any given time. It's a serious situation and you need to be seeking shelter. And a reminder, this is the lowest level of your home, put on your bike helmet, get into your bathroom if that's your safe place and make sure you're going to be there for the next 30 minutes or so. This will be the line we're watching over the next couple of hours. More of these storms that are developing behind here could intensify and also produce rotation. So that's going to be the area that we're watching, and then the whole line itself will eventually be advancing on down to the south. Now, I just want to kind of show you the convective outlook as we see it and who's at threat for today. I think that threat is diminishing here. So the big focus will be then South Georgia into north Florida, could be inching down toward Orlando late today. So keep that in mind if you have plans. And just kind of an overview, Fredericka, of what we've been seeing over the last 24 plus hours is we've had so many reports of tornadoes, long track tornadoes, 11 different states being impacted by this outbreak. No tornado reports today. Nothing confirmed on the ground that we've had those warnings and that could change. So we're going to be watching Georgia and Florida to possibly bring that number up.
[Whitfield:] So with those warnings, some other advice I thought was really instructive. If you're at home I love the baby seat that you mentioned for protection. But if you have a bike helmet, any of that, you may want to wear that, put that on if you have to take cover in that a safe place in your home because people forget about the potential for head injuries with things falling down.
[Jeras:] Right, research has shown that most of the fatalities, unfortunately, in most situations are from debris or getting knocked around. You feel kind of foolish, people think I'm not putting on my bike helmet, I'm going to look like a fool. But there's no shame in it. Whatever you can do to save your life or your kids' lives, do it.
[Whitfield:] Thanks so much. That's a look ahead. Let's take another look at what this storm system has done. Hard-hit area of Henryville, Indiana, about 20 miles north of Louisville, Kentucky, a tornado it is confirmed did flatten homes and threw cars and buses into buildings. Fourteen people are dead in southern Indiana. The governors of Kentucky and Indiana sent National Guard troops to help search for survivors and also provide some security.
[Gov. Mitch Daniels,  Indiana:] Lucky it wasn't worse. As awful as this has been heartbreaking, of course, we're trying and will continue to up the track of this storm. It's a long storm. Somebody later will tell us whether there were multiple tornadoes or not. It may have been 50 miles from here to Chelsea and we lost lives each point along the way.
[Whitfield:] While the governor tries to console his community, we're hearing amazing stories of survival from Indiana, just like this one. Rescuers found a 20-month-old baby girl in a field after an outbreak of tornadoes there. She was all alone and injured, but alive. She is now in a hospital, and a spokesman says the little girl is in critical condition but has been reunited with her family. And we'll have much more on the storm throughout the afternoon. Also today, Prince Harry, the ambassador. British royals hit the road in honor of the queen's 60-year reign. Details on that, next.