USA: Hurricane kills many

Status: 04/01/2023 10:15 pm

Destroyed homes, overturned cars, uprooted trees: A series of tornadoes wreaked havoc in several US states. Dead and many injured – the next storm center is already forming.

A massive storm system in the US South and Midwest unleashed deadly tornadoes on Friday, killing at least 17 people. In addition, there were dozens of injuries, US media reported, citing police and rescue services.

Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Wisconsin, Mississippi and Tennessee were particularly affected, according to the weather service. About half a million households were at least temporarily without power, according to data from poweroutage.us. Houses and business premises were destroyed, vehicles overturned and trees uprooted.

Theater roof collapses in Illinois

In the small town of Belvidere, Illinois, part of the roof of a theater collapses during a concert. One died. Five people were taken to hospital with serious injuries, 18 with moderate injuries and five with minor injuries, according to the fire department.

Police said there were 260 people in the theater. Police Chief Shane Woody described the situation as “absolute chaos”. At the time of the collapse, the storm was gusting at 145 kilometers per hour, according to officials.

Arkansas mobilizes the National Guard

Three people died in the storm in Sullivan County, Indiana, local disaster management director Jim Birdle told the Associated Press. Houses were damaged and many people went missing. “It hit us hard,” said emergency services coordinator Jim Birdle.

A woman has been killed and three others seriously injured in Madison County, Alabama, according to emergency services.

Arkansas mobilizes the National Guard

A few hours ago, a tornado hit the city of Little Rock, Arkansas and the surrounding area. Media reports quoted officials as saying that one person had died. At least 50 people have been taken to hospitals, a Pulaski County spokeswoman told CNN. Images from local TV stations showed uprooted trees, overturned vehicles and torn roofs.

Four more people died from the village of Wynne, 150 kilometers away. Houses collapsed and people were trapped in the rubble. “Wine is broke,” said City Council member Lisa Powell. About 90,000 Arkansas homes are without power, MonitoringOutage.us also reported. Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared a state of emergency and mobilized 100 National Guardsmen to help with rescue and cleanup efforts.

Debris and destroyed homes after a tornado in Coralville, Iowa.

Image: A.P

The next warning from the National Weather Service

Confirmed tornadoes were also reported from Iowa, while winds fueled grass fires in Oklahoma. The storm system is threatening parts of the southern and midwestern United States, home to 85 million people.

The National Weather Service’s storm center says such “intense supercell thunderstorms” are likely to become more frequent, especially in the southern United States, “as global temperatures continue to rise.” The next major storm center is already predicted for next Tuesday in the same area.

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