Violent storms and powerful tornadoes that tore through the South and Midwest resulted in at least 22 fatalities and numerous injuries.
State leaders in the area have declared emergencies to deal with the damage caused by the ferocious tornadoes and destructive storms that wiped out entire villages in the South and Midwest on Friday and Saturday, killing at least 22 people.
Four people who died in Illinois building collapses were among the fatalities. According to Kevin Sur, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, three of the deaths were caused by the collapse of a residential building in Crawford County, while the fourth victim died when the roof of the Apollo Theatre in Belvidere fell.
In at least seven states, including Arkansas, where storms killed five people, four in the small city of Wynne and one in North Little Rock, more than 50 preliminary tornado reports were made on Friday.
According to State Police Sgt. Matt Ames, three individuals were murdered in Indiana on Friday night by a storm that destroyed homes and a volunteer fire station close to the city of Sullivan, which is 95 miles southwest of Indianapolis. During a news conference on Saturday morning, authorities in Madison County, Alabama, said that one person had passed away and five others had been hurt overnight.
According to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, there was one fatality and four injuries in Pontotoc County, Mississippi. The seven fatalities were also confirmed by Allen Strickland, the emergency management director for McNairy County, Tennessee, which is situated in southern Tennessee between Nashville and Memphis.
According to county spokesperson Madeline Roberts, a tornado that tore through the Little Rock area on Friday transported at least 50 individuals to hospitals in Pulaski County, Arkansas. According to a representative for Baptist Memorial Health Care, a tornado that hit Covington, Tennessee, on Friday left five additional people hospitalized. They left the roads impassable.
According to the county’s emergency operations center, a building collapsed in Sussex County, Delaware, on Saturday evening, killing one person.
The storms come a week after the Southeast was devastated by extreme weather, which left at least 26 people dead. Most of Rolling Fork, Mississippi, which had estimated maximum winds of 170 mph overnight, was flattened by a tornado, which puts people most susceptible to severe – and fatal – damages. That simply appeared out of nowhere.
Over 2,600 structures have been affected in Little Rock,
He said that 2,100 people lived in the tornado’s path and were ultimately impacted. According to the mayor, homes and businesses were destroyed as cars were shot through the air.
“It’s by the grace of God nobody in Little Rock was murdered,” Scott said, adding that it was lucky that the storm moved through the city when it did because many residents had not yet arrived home from work. “A lot of people weren’t at home.
At least 12 tornadoes, including one in the Little Rock region, were reported in Arkansas. If they were, it would have been a massacre. According to the tracking website poweroutage.us, more than 34,000 individuals in the state were still without electricity as of Saturday afternoon.
As a tornado passed by the region while he was working on Friday afternoon, William Williams, who told CNN affiliate KATV he works at a Kroger store in Little Rock, said he is “thankful to be alive.” He sought refuge inside the shop, then emerged to find individuals hurt, among them a woman he claimed had suffered a severe leg injury.
That all happened in a matter of seconds. Williams said to KATV, “It came – bang. “There was a lot of noise and activity. I venture outdoors, and it is wild. People’s faces were covered in blood. I’m just grateful to be alive.
The city of Wynne, located about 100 miles east of Little Rock, was “essentially sliced in two by destruction from east to west.” Storm-related roof collapse at a theater
One person was killed and numerous others were hurt when the roof of the Apollo Theatre in Belvidere, northern Illinois, collapsed while more than 200 people were inside for an event. According to authorities and the National Weather Service, the collapse occurred as a line of storms packing 50 mph winds and dumping hail passed across the region. It was unclear right away if the storm was what caused the theater’s roof to collapse.
Shawn Schadle, the fire chief for Belvidere, Illinois, reported that 28 individuals were brought to hospitals as a result of the fall.
Belvidere is located in Crawford, Sangamon, and Boone counties, which the governor of Illinois J.B. Pritzker declared disaster areas for on Saturday. He said Friday’s storms “upended our towns and resulted in terrible injuries and loss of life.”
The governor posted on Twitter, saying, “We’ll stop at nothing to help anyone affected by yesterday’s devastating weather.”
While this was going on, in Indiana, the storm tore through Sullivan County, keeping the wife of a local official inside their residence until their son came to save her. According to Mayor Clint Lamb, numerous homes in the city of Sullivan, which has around 4,000 residents, suffered major damage as a result of the storm.
Overnight, Lamb posted on Facebook, “We ask all citizens to keep safe and stay put.” “Clear streets are necessary for first responders to reach the affected neighborhoods. Please offer prayers for the Sullivan families and the first responders.
Storm damage has been severe in Howard, Johnson, and Sullivan counties, according to meteorologist Andrew White with the National Weather Service’s Indianapolis Office. According to Mayor Clint Lamb, numerous homes in the city of Sullivan, which has around 4,000 residents, suffered major damage as a result of the storm.
But, according to emergency management director Janice Hart, the damage in Howard County was minimal and there were no injuries.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency and Indiana officials are collaborating to analyze damages, according to Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, who on Saturday issued a disaster emergency for the counties of Sullivan and Johnson.
