US: 7 kil US: 7 killed, dozens hospitalised as tornadoes tear through Arkansas, Illinois

Washington [US], April 1 (ANI): Devastating storms and tornadoes scraped US states of Arkansas and Illinois on Friday into early Saturday, killing at least seven people, injuring dozens more, trapping others in their homes, and damaging businesses and critical infrastructure, reported The New York Times (NYT).

In Arkansas, the governor declared a state of emergency Friday afternoon after officials said one person was killed in North Little Rock and two died in Wynne, in separate tornadoes. A state of emergency was also declared in Missouri in response to severe weather.

The mayor of Little Rock, Frank Scott Jr., said that at least 30 people were hospitalized there and that more than 2,000 homes were damaged. The storm did extensive damage to businesses and apartment complexes, the local police said.

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, reported NYT.

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. (ANI)