WASHINGTON: The death count from devastating and destructive tornadoes that scrapped the American South and Midwest had risen to 32, while parts of the Southern Plains braced for the possibility of their own round of severe weather, according to CNN.
The storm, which broke into America’s houses, came on Friday and till now, had crushed homes and businesses, ripped roofs off buildings, splintered trees and sent vehicles flying.
In Wynne, Arkansas, where four people have been killed, was cleaved in half by one such tornado, leaving a line of destruction from the city’s western limit to its eastern, according to Mayor Jennifer Hobbs, who told CNN Sunday and added, “We’re just gonna need all the help that we can get to help these families recover”.
Deaths have been confirmed across a wide swath of states, with multiple victims reported in Arkansas, Indiana and Tennessee, where the statewide death toll rose to 15 Sunday, officials said.
Three of the deaths were in Memphis: Two children and one adult were found dead after police responded to calls about trees that had fallen on homes, the Memphis Police Department said in a news release.
After the report of various tornadoes in Arkansas, the governor declared a state of emergency Friday afternoon after officials said one person was killed in North Little Rock and two died in Wynne. A state of emergency was also declared in Missouri in response to severe weather, CNN reported.
On Friday night in northern Illinois, a person was killed and 28 others were hospitalized after the roof collapsed at a theatre in Belvidere with 260 people inside, told the fire chief, Shawn Schadle, reported New York Times.
Roughly 150 miles to the east of Sherman, in Sullivan Country, Ind., three people were also killed after a tornado touched down, according to Sgt. Matt Ames with the Indiana State Police.
In addition to Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana and Tennessee, tornadoes were reported to the National Weather Service across Wisconsin, Iowa and Mississippi. As the storm system moved eastward early Saturday, tornado warnings remained in place for parts of Alabama and Georgia, according to the National Weather Service.
An overnight tornado, which makes people most prone to extensive damages, levelled much of Rolling Fork, Mississippi, where estimated maximum winds of 170 mph roared.
President Biden on Friday visited Rolling Fork, the Mississippi community hit hardest by the tornadoes last week. Tornadoes killed 13 people and destroyed homes and businesses in Rolling Fork and in surrounding Sharkey County. (ANI)