A series of tornadoes killed several people across the United States. US media reported on Saturday, citing officials and emergency services, that at least 17 people had died and dozens were injured. A total of about 50 hurricanes that can be classified as tornadoes were counted across seven US states. The media spoke of a rare “monstrous storm system” stretching from the southern United States to the Great Lakes region in the north.
According to the weather service, the states of Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Wisconsin, Mississippi and Tennessee were particularly affected. Tens of thousands of homes were without power, at least temporarily, according to data from poweroutage.us.
Roof collapsed during concert
In McNairy County, Tennessee, seven people were killed by the storm, local media reported, citing police and rescue workers.
In the small town of Belvidere, Illinois, the roof of an event building partially collapsed during a heavy rainstorm during a concert. According to the media, at least one person was killed and dozens were injured. Fire Chief Shawn Schadle said five people were taken to the hospital with serious injuries, 18 with moderate injuries and five with minor injuries. At the time of the collapse, a storm was raging with gusts of up to 145 kilometers per hour.
According to authorities, 260 people were in the building when the roof collapsed. The concert was sold out. Death metal bands Morbid Angel, Revocation and Skeletal Remains were on the program at the Apollo Theater. Belvidere has about 25,000 people and is a good 100 kilometers from Chicago.
© Image: Portal/Jon Cherry
“Very Hard Day” in Arkansas
Hours earlier, a tornado hit the city of Little Rock, Arkansas. Footage from local television stations showed uprooted trees, overturned vehicles and destroyed roofs. Pulaski County, to which the city belongs, has reported one fatality. At least 50 people were taken to hospitals, a spokeswoman for the district told CNN. According to a local broadcaster, the local rescue service in Little Rock expected 600 injured on Friday. However, this fear was not confirmed until Saturday.
Four more deaths were reported in the village of Wynne, about 150 kilometers away. Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared a state of emergency and deployed 100 National Guardsmen to help with rescue and cleanup efforts. She spoke of significant damage and a “very difficult day” for the state.
Biden visited storm-hit location
Three people also died in a violent storm in Sullivan County, Indiana, wrote the New York Times, citing local police. Several homes were damaged, police spokesman Matt Ames told CNN. “It hit us hard,” said emergency services coordinator Jim Pirtle.
The White House said on Saturday that US President Joe Biden had spoken with the governor of Arkansas, as well as the mayors of Little Rock and Wynne. He has also been in contact with civil protection authority Fema.
A tornado killed at least 26 people in Mississippi and Alabama just a week ago. On Friday, Biden and his wife Jill visited the small town of Rolling Fork, Mississippi, which was hit particularly hard by the storm. The Bidens got a sense of the destruction in the community of 2,000 and met with, among other things, the city’s mayor and affected residents. “You are not alone,” Biden said amid the rubble of destroyed homes and uprooted trees. “The American people will be with you. They’ll help you get through this — and so will I.”