The phenomenon passed through several states in the south and north-central part of the country.
Dozens of relentless tornadoes tore through parts of the southern and north-central United States, killing at least 18 people.
Meteors tore through the Arkansas capital, brought down the roof of a packed concert venue in Illinois, and smashed homes, schools, and businesses in all sorts of cities and towns.
On Saturday, people across the region were stunned by the destruction that occurred overnight.
Confirmed or suspected tornadoes have destroyed buildings in at least seven states, snapped trees and leveled neighborhoods in a swath of the country home to some 85 million people.
There were seven deaths in Tennessee’s McNairy County, four in the small town of Wynne, Arkansas, and three in Sullivan, Indiana.
Other deaths were reported in Alabama, Illinois and Mississippi, as well as one fatality near Little Rock, the Arkansas capital, where the mayor said more than 2,000 buildings were caught in the path of a tornado.
Shocked residents of Wynne, a community of regarding 8,000 regarding 50 miles west of Memphis, Tennessee, woke up Saturday to the news that the high school’s roof had been smashed and its windows blown out.
Huge trees lay on the ground, their stumps reduced to knobs. Broken walls, windows, and ceilings were seen in all kinds of houses and businesses.
Debris and remnants of normal life lay strewn inside the damaged homes and across the lawn: clothing, wall insulation, roofing paper, toys, splintered furniture, and a van with broken windows.
“It makes me sad that my city has been affected so badly,” said Heidi Jenkins, a salon owner. “Our school is gone, my church is gone. I am sad for all the people who lost their homes.”
Recovery was underway, with workers using chainsaws to cut downed trees and bulldozers moving remnants of wrecked structures. Utility trucks were working to restore power. Groups of volunteers met to plan the day.
Seven people died in McNairy County, east of Memphis and bordering Mississippi, Adamsville Mayor David Leckner said.
“Most of the damage occurred in houses and residential areas,” he added. He said that although it seemed that everyone had been accounted for, there were teams going door-to-door to make sure.
In Belvidere, Illinois, the roof of the Apollo Theater collapsed during a tornado, killing one person and injuring 28, five critically, authorities said. The crash occurred during a heavy metal concert in this town regarding 70 miles (110 kilometers) northwest of Chicago.
Police said they began receiving emergency calls from the theater shortly before 8:00 p.m. The venue’s Facebook page said the bands scheduled to perform were Morbid Angel, Crypta, Skeletal Remains and Revocation.
Belvidere Fire Department Chief Shawn Schadle said 260 people were in the room at the time. He said emergency crews also rescued someone from an elevator and had to deal with downed power lines in front of the theater.
The picture following the ceiling fell was “chaos, absolute chaos,” said Shane Woody, who heads Belvidere police.
View from Little Rock Baptist moments ago! *video shot by Kristal Benton from the 7th Floor of Medical Towers 1. #arwx @NWSLittleRock @KATVToddYak @KATVJames pic.twitter.com/zX2xHoSMvz
— Sean (@_spcanady) March 31, 2023
The storms also killed three people in Sullivan County, Indiana — near the state line with Illinois, regarding 150 kilometers southwest of Indianapolis — local emergency management director Jim Pirtle said.
Sullivan Mayor Clint Lamb told a news conference that an area south of the county seat of regarding 4,000 people was “essentially unrecognizable at this point” and that several people were pulled from the rubble overnight.
There were reports of up to 12 people injured, it added.
In the Little Rock area, at least one person was killed and more than 20 injured, some seriously, authorities said.
Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott said 2,100 homes and businesses were in the tornado’s path, but no assessment had been made on how many were damaged.
Little Rock resident Niki Scott took refuge in a bathroom following her husband called to warn her of a tornado. She might hear glass breaking and when she got out she discovered that her house was one of the few on her street that didn’t have a tree on top of it.
BREAKING: A Little Rock, Arkansas medical center said it was operating at a mass casualty level following a tornado struck — reducing rooftops to splinters, toppling vehicles and tossing debris on roadways. https://t.co/lo7xGQkdXz pic.twitter.com/B4BnMkmkpa
— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 31, 2023
A suspected tornado also killed a woman in Madison County, Alabama, County Officer Mac McCutcheon said.
In Pontotoc County, in northern Mississippi, authorities confirmed one death and four injuries.
The extensive storm system that also sparked wildfires in the southern Great Plains and blizzards in the northern part of the country.
More than 600 injuries are reported in Little Rock, Arkansas, following the passage of a massive tornado that hit the city on the followingnoon of Friday, March 31, 2023 pic.twitter.com/K5gTFiPFA4
— Radio Dinámica Ecu ???????? (@RadioDinamicaE) April 1, 2023
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