SEATTLE — As the toll of the tornadoes and storms that pounded the south this week becomes clearer and images continue to roll in, Seattle residents with ties to the area are still trying to get in touch with loved ones.

We noticed Jennifer Cashman, a West Seattle resident from Tuscaloosa, tracking the storm through her Twitter feed. Her father still lives in Tuscaloosa, and she warned him about the storm.

I just couldnt take my eyes off of it; it was so big, she said.

Tornadoes left paths of destruction through Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama on Wednesday and Thursday.

I dont recognize it; its gone, Cashman said of Tuscaloosa. What makes me really sad (is) I cant tell where theyre at (because of all the devastation).

On Thursday, she was still trying to connect with some friends in the area.

Thousands have been left homeless, and as traditional forms of communication have broken down, people have turned to social media to try to get in touch with friends and family.

Im stuck in my house, Cashman said, quoting what one of her friends posted on Facebook.

It seems if they couldnt text or call, they could (post to) Facebook, Cashman said.

Dana Lewis, another Alabama native now living in Seattle, wrote in a Facebook note on the storm that, Social media saved the lives of people who wouldnt otherwise have been alerted to get out of the path of the storm and inside to safety. As the storms passed, and people emerged, Facebook became the go-to resource to check on the well-being of friends and family, and to help get out the word for people who need to be found.

Editors note: Lewis emphasis in bold.

A Facebook page has been set up for found pictures and documents that were strewn about by the tornado, and some are also using it to try to find people.

Tuscaloosanews.com also has a people finder set up on its website.

More than 200 people were killed in Alabama alone and the numbers have been climbing all week.

It was like a locomotive train, Linda Jackson, a Tuscaloosa resident, told CNN of the tornado. Everything kept cracking, and popping and blowing — it was like a locomotive train shaking the house.

Jackson and her family hid in closets in her home and when they eventually headed back outside, people were screaming, and hollering and crying. People were dead; we lost everything, as well, she said.

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