The driver captures the moment a tornado hits his car
Storms that spawned dozens of tornadoes across the United States in the past few days have killed at least 26 people in dozens of cities and towns in the south and midwest of the country.
But tornadoes also formed and passed in six other states, destroying homes and businesses, uprooting trees and devastating neighborhoods across much of the country.
Among the victims, nine died in Tennessee, four in the small town of Wynne, Arkansas, three in Sullivan, Indiana, and four in Illinois.
Additional deaths from the storms, which battered overnight Friday through Saturday, were reported in Alabama and Mississippi, along with one near Little Rock, Arkansas, where city officials said more than 2,600 buildings were in the path of a tornado .
1 of 1 Personal belongings remain after a tornado damaged a home in Wynne, Arkansas, USA on April 1, 2023 — Photo: Adrian Sainz/AP April 2023 — Photo: Adrian Sainz/AP
Debris was scattered around the damaged homes and on lawns: clothing, wall insulation, toys, splintered furniture and a van with shattered windows.
Ashley Macmillan said she, her husband and children took refuge in a small bathroom with their dogs as the tornado passed, “praying and saying goodbye because we thought we were going to die”. A falling tree severely damaged their home, but they were unharmed.
“We felt the house shaking, we heard loud noises, dishes rattling. And then everything calmed down,” he said.
The crews have already restored power.
Nine people died in McNairy County, Tennessee, east of Memphis, said Patrick Sheehan, director of the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency.
“Most of the damage was to homes and residential areas,” Adamsville Mayor David Leckner said.