At least 21 people have been killed and thousands left without power after a series of tornadoes tore through parts of the United States’ South and Midwest. Arkansas, Tennessee, Illinois, Indiana, Alabama, and Mississippi were all affected by the devastating storms.
In Arkansas, vehicles were overturned, trees toppled and power lines torn down. Five people were reported dead there – as well as seven in Tennessee, four in Illinois and three in Indiana. Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared a state of emergency in the state of Arkansas on Friday, with the national guard activated to help with recovery efforts. She said she had spoken to President Joe Biden about the situation, who promised federal aid.
One resident of the Arkansas state capital Little Rock – the scene of a major tornado – told the Washington Post he had been left feeling “utter disbelief”. “I’ve lived in this community since 1985. I know the whole county pretty well. Not to be able to recognise landmarks just has me in shock… I saw a storage building laying three miles down the road from where it was supposed to be,” he said. One person died in Little Rock, alongside four others in the small town of Wynne.
Warnings of extreme weather, including the possibility of severe thunderstorms and strong winds, were set to stay in place for Saturday across the eastern third of the country, the National Weather Service said. Strong winds and hail were also forecast. A total of over 60 tornadoes were reported across a number of states on Friday and Saturday by the US government’s Storm Prediction Center.
Over 590,000 people are without power across several states in the country, with Ohio and Pennsylvania being the worst affected, according to the US PowerOutage website. Tennessee – where over 105,000 are without power – experienced the most lethal storm, with seven deaths in the county of McNairy, near the border with Mississippi, officials said on Saturday.
“The damage and loss that our community suffered last night was catastrophic,” Adamsville city police department wrote in a statement on Facebook. Friday’s storm also led to the collapse of a theatre roof at a packed heavy metal gig in Belvidere, Illinois state, leading to one death and 28 people getting injured. On Saturday, officials announced three more deaths in Illinois’s Crawford county.
The deadly tornadoes come a week after a rare, long-track twister killed 26 people in Mississippi. President Biden visited the state on Friday to pay his condolences. In a bulletin, the Storm Prediction Center warned some of the projected tornadoes could track across the ground for long distances. The Mississippi tornado last week travelled 59 miles (94km) and lasted about an hour and 10 minutes – an unusually long period of time for a storm to sustain itself. It damaged about 2,000 homes, officials said.
At least 21 people have been killed and thousands left without power after a series of devastating tornadoes tore through parts of the United States’ South and Midwest. Arkansas, Tennessee, Illinois, Indiana, Alabama, and Mississippi were all affected by the storms which caused widespread destruction.
In Arkansas, vehicles were overturned, trees toppled and power lines torn down. Five people were reported dead there – as well as seven in Tennessee, four in Illinois and three in Indiana. Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared a state of emergency in the state of Arkansas on Friday, with the national guard activated to help with recovery efforts. She said she had spoken to President Joe Biden about the situation, who promised federal aid.
One resident of the Arkansas state capital Little Rock – the scene of a major tornado – told the Washington Post he had been left feeling “utter disbelief”. “I’ve lived in this community since 1985. I know the whole county pretty well. Not to be able to recognise landmarks just has me in shock… I saw a storage building laying three miles down the road from where it was supposed to be,” he said. One person died in Little Rock, alongside four others in the small town of Wynne.
The National Weather Service issued warnings of extreme weather for Saturday across the eastern third of the country, including severe thunderstorms and strong winds. Strong winds and hail were also forecast. A total of over 60 tornadoes were reported across a number of states on Friday and Saturday by the US government’s Storm Prediction Center.
Over 590,000 people are without power across several states in the country, with Ohio and Pennsylvania being the worst affected, according to the US PowerOutage website. Tennessee – where over 105,000 are without power – experienced the most lethal storm, with seven deaths in the county of McNairy, near the border with Mississippi, officials said on Saturday.
Friday’s storm also led to the collapse of a theatre roof at a packed heavy metal gig in Belvidere, Illinois state, leading to one death and 28 people getting injured. On Saturday, officials announced three more deaths in Illinois’s Crawford county.
The deadly tornadoes come a week after a rare, long-track twister killed 26 people in Mississippi. President Biden visited the state on Friday to pay his condolences. In a bulletin, the Storm Prediction Center warned some of the projected tornadoes could track across the ground for long distances. The Mississippi tornado last week travelled 59 miles (94km) and lasted about an hour and 10 minutes – an unusually long period of time for a storm to sustain itself. It damaged about 2,000 homes, officials said.
At least 21 people have lost their lives after a series of destructive tornadoes swept through parts of South and Midwest United States. Arkansas, Tennessee, Illinois, Indiana, Alabama and Mississippi were all affected by these devastating storms which caused widespread destruction and left thousands without power.
In Arkansas alone vehicles were overturned, trees toppled and power lines torn down resulting in five reported deaths as well as seven in Tennessee, four in Illinois and three in Indiana. Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared a state of emergency in Arkansas on Friday and activated the national guard to help with recovery efforts. She spoke to President Joe Biden who promised federal aid for those affected by this tragedy.
One resident from Little Rock spoke to Washington Post about his shock at not being able to recognise landmarks anymore due to the destruction caused by this tornado. One person died there alongside four others in Wynne town which was also hit hard by this storm.
The National Weather Service issued warnings for Saturday for severe thunderstorms and strong winds across eastern third of United States along with strong winds and hail forecasted for some areas. Over 60 tornadoes were reported across several states by US government’s Storm Prediction Center while over 590,000 people are without power across several states with Ohio and Pennsylvania being worst affected according to US PowerOutage website.
Friday’s storm also led to collapse of theatre roof at packed heavy metal gig in Belvidere resulting in one death and 28 people getting injured while officials announced three more deaths in Illinois’s Crawford county on Saturday. This deadly tornado comes a week after rare long-track twister killed 26 people in Mississippi which travelled 59 miles (94km) and lasted about an hour and 10 minutes – an unusually long period for storm to sustain itself damaging about 2,000 homes according to officials.