7 KILLED, DOZENS HOSPITALIZED AS TORNADOES TEAR THROUGH ARKANSAS, ILLINOIS
According to reports, devastating storms and tornadoes tore through the US states of Illinois and Arkansas on Friday night and into early Saturday. They resulted in at least seven fatalities, numerous injuries, the entrapment of others in their homes, and damage to critical infrastructure and businesses. The governor of Arkansas announced a state of emergency on Friday after reports that two people died in Wynne and one person died in North Little Rock as a result of separate tornadoes. In reaction to the bad weather, a state of emergency was also issued in Missouri. More than 2,000 homes were damaged, according to Little Rock’s mayor, Frank Scott Jr., and at least 30 individuals were sent to the hospital. According to the local police, businesses and apartment buildings suffered significant damage
during the storm.
On Friday night in northern Illinois, a person was killed and 28 others were hospitalized after the roof collapsed at a theater in Belvidere with 260 people inside, told the fire chief, Shawn Schadle, as per the reports.
Roughly 150 miles to the east of Sherman, in Sullivan Country, Ind., three people
were also killed after a tornado touched down, according to Sgt. Matt Ames with the Indiana State Police.
In addition to Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana and Tennessee, tornadoes were reported to the National Weather Service across Wisconsin, Iowa and Mississippi. As the storm system moved eastward early Saturday, tornado warnings remained in place for parts of Alabama and Georgia, according to the National Weather Service.
More than 450,000 homes and businesses were in the dark early Saturday across Indiana, Illinois, Arkansas and Tennessee, with about one-third of the outages reported in Indiana, according to the tracking website Poweroutage.us.
Friday’s severe storms came a week after severe weather walloped the Southeast and killed at least 26 people. An overnight tornado, which makes people most prone to extensive damages, levelled much of Rolling Fork, Mississippi, where estimated maximum winds of 170 mph roared.
President Biden on Friday visited Rolling Fork, the Mississippi community hit hardest by the tornadoes last week. Tornadoes killed 13 people and destroyed homes and businesses in Rolling Fork and in surrounding Sharkey County.