The death toll after a huge storm system that hit with tornadoes and devastating winds across the southern and central United Statess rose to 18, officials said Saturday.
(Read also: Shocking images of a tornado that hit Arkansas, United States)
A spokesman for the Tennessee emergency management agency, one of the hardest-hit states since Friday, confirmed to AFP seven deaths related to the weather events, adding to the 11 reported earlier by officials in Arkansas, Mississippi, Indiana and Alabama
The governor declared a general state of emergency and mobilized the National Guard. Sanders reported that two people were killed in the eastern Arkansas town of Wynne, while a Pulaski County official, near the capital Little Rock, confirmed another death there.
Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. said “about 30 individuals were transported to our local hospitals.” More than 78,000 people lost power in Arkansas, according to the website Poweroutage.us. Lara Farrar, a journalist for a local business publication, told AFP by telephone that she was “totally shocked” by the destruction near her home in Little Rock, a city of 200,000.
“Some of the buildings had their roofs completely blown off,” he said, sharing images of houses destroyed, with walls partially torn down and trees down.
damaging storms
The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a tornado watch for the nearby states of Tennessee, Illinois and Iowa.
Precisely, in the state of Illinois (central-eastern United States) the severe storms also left sequels and various damages. ANDn the night, the disaster reached the city of Belvidere, Illinois, when a powerful storm caused the roof and part of the facade of the Apollo Theater to collapse, in the middle of a concert by a heavy metal band.
“More than 20 ambulances were reportedly called to the scene,” Fox 32 reported. Belvidere Fire Chief Shawn Schadle confirmed one person was killed and 28 injured in the disaster, five seriously injured.
(Also read: Grand jury indicts Donald Trump: what’s next after he’s arrested?)
In the neighboring state of Indiana, two people were confirmed dead after a storm swept through Sullivan County, state police spokesmen told CBS/FOX affiliate WTHI.
Images posted on Twitter by WTHI showed downed telephone poles, collapsed houses and rubble littering roads. Tornadoes, a meteorological phenomenon as impressive as it is difficult to predict, are common in the United States, especially in the center and south of the country.
A week ago, a tornado ripped through Mississippi, killing 25 people and causing extensive property damage. President Joe Biden visited the site on Friday. In December 2021, around 80 people were killed by tornadoes in Kentucky.
AFP
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