At least 32 people have perished in the United States as violent storms and tornadoes wreaked havoc across multiple states, toppling vehicles, levelling homes, and leaving a trail of destruction in their wake.
The death toll climbed after authorities in Kansas reported eight fatalities in a highway pileup caused by a dust storm in Sherman County on Friday. The Kansas Highway Patrol stated that at least 50 vehicles were involved in the crash.
In Mississippi, Governor Tate Reeves confirmed that six people had died across three counties, with three others reported missing. He added that 29 people had sustained injuries across the state.
Missouri bore the brunt of the devastation, with at least 12 fatalities reported. Authorities stated that a man lost his life when his home was obliterated by a tornado.
“It was unrecognisable as a home. Just a debris field,” said Jim Akers, Coroner of Butler County. “The floor was upside down. We were walking on walls.”
Dakota Henderson, a resident of Wayne County, described the chaos that unfolded as rescuers searched for survivors. “It was a very rough deal last night,” he said. “It’s really disturbing for what happened to the people, the casualties last night.”
Henderson and others managed to rescue his aunt, whose bedroom was the only room left standing in her home.
In Arkansas, authorities confirmed three deaths in Independence County, with 29 others injured across eight counties.
“We have teams out surveying the damage from last night’s tornadoes and have first responders on the ground to assist,” said Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp also declared a state of emergency, citing forecasts of worsening conditions later in the day.
The severe weather system, which has affected an estimated 100 million people, has also led to deadly dust storms and wildfires across the region. Authorities in Texas reported three fatalities from vehicular accidents caused by blinding dust storms near Amarillo.
Oklahoma has been particularly hard-hit by wildfires, with over 130 blazes reported across the state. Governor Kevin Stitt revealed that an estimated 266 square miles (689 square kilometres) of land had been scorched.
Meteorologists have warned that wind speeds reaching up to 80 mph (130 kph) could further exacerbate blizzard conditions in the northern regions while intensifying wildfire risks in the south.
The National Weather Service has issued blizzard warnings for western Minnesota and eastern South Dakota, where snow accumulations of up to 30 centimetres are expected.
The Storm Prediction Centre has cautioned that the volatile weather system could spawn further tornadoes across parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. Winds exceeding hurricane force are anticipated, with gusts potentially reaching 100 mph (160 kph).
Bailey Dillon and her fiancé, Caleb Barnes, described witnessing the fury of nature as a massive tornado tore through Tylertown, Mississippi.
“The amount of damage was catastrophic,” Dillon said. “It was a large amount of cabins, RVs, campers that were just flipped over—everything was destroyed.”
Tornado sirens blared across Rolla, Missouri, where Tad Peters and his father, Richard, captured footage of the storm’s devastation.
“Whoa, is this coming? Oh, it’s here. It’s here,” Peters is heard saying in a video as debris swirled around their vehicle.
The ferocious storms have left over 200,000 homes and businesses without power across Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan, according to poweroutage.us.
Meanwhile, the Texas A&M University Forest Service reported that a fire in Roberts County, Texas, rapidly expanded from a mere two square kilometres to 85 square kilometres before being contained.
Another fire, some 90 kilometres to the south, was halted after growing to 10 square kilometres.
