The death toll from the deadly and destructive tornadoes that ripped through the US South and Midwest had increased to 32, while sections of the Southern Plains braced for their own round of extreme weather, according to fresh reports.
The storm hit America on Friday and has since smashed homes and businesses, ripped roofs off buildings, shattered trees, and sent automobiles 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.
Two children and one adult were discovered dead after officers responded to complaints about trees that had fallen on residences, according to a news release from the Memphis Police Department.
After reports of tornadoes in Arkansas, the governor issued a state of emergency Friday afternoon after officials reported one death in North Little Rock and two deaths in Wynne. According to CNN, a state of emergency was also proclaimed in Missouri in reaction to severe weather.
According to the fire chief, Shawn Schadle, a person was killed and 28 others were wounded after the roof collapsed at a theatre in Belvidere with 260 people inside on Friday night in northern Illinois.
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 paid a visit to Rolling Fork, Mississippi, on Friday, the hamlet hardest damaged by the storms last week. Tornadoes in Rolling Fork and nearby Sharkey County killed 13 people and destroyed houses and businesses.
