Wynne, Arkansas.- Residents across a wide swath of the United States today were assessing the destruction caused by powerful storms that spawned possibly dozens of tornadoes from the South and Midwest to the Northeast, claiming at least 32 lives.
Storms tore through the Arkansas capital and also caused it to collapse from the roof of a packed concert hall in Illinois, shocking people across the region at the extent of the damage.
The death toll continued to rise today.
“While we continue to assess the extent of the damage, we know there are families across the country mourning the death of loved ones, desperately waiting to hear from others fighting for their lives, and walking through the rubble of their homes. or jobs,” President Joe Biden said in a statement.
The president had previously declared disaster zones in various parts of the country, making available federal resources and financial aid for recovery.
Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders had already declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard. At least five people died in the state.
Tornadoes in 11 states destroyed homes and businesses, downed trees and leveled neighborhoods.
The National Weather Service confirmed today that a tornado had caused the damage near Bridgeville, Delaware. One person was found dead inside a heavily storm-damaged home Saturday night, state police said.
It could take several days to confirm all of the recent tornadoes. In one Tennessee county, at least nine people died, five in Indiana and four in Illinois.
In addition, deaths were reported in Alabama and Mississippi from the storms that struck Friday night and Saturday.
Residents of Wynne, Arkansas, a community of about 8,000 people located 50 miles (80 kilometers) west of Memphis, Tennessee, woke up Saturday to find the roof of a high school shattered and windows smashed. At least four people lost their lives.
Ashley Macmillan said she, her husband and their children took shelter with their dogs in a bathroom as the tornado passed, “praying and saying goodbye to each other, because we thought we were dead.” Her home was badly damaged by a fallen tree, but they escaped unharmed.
Chainsaws and bulldozers could be heard through the rubble. Utility crews reactivated power as some neighborhoods began their recovery.
Tennessee had at least 15 deaths, including nine in McNairy County, east of Memphis, according to Patrick Sheehan, director of the state Emergency Management Agency.
Governor Bill Lee toured the affected area on Saturday. He said the storm capped his “worst” week in office, days after a school massacre in Nashville that killed six people, including a family friend whose funeral he and his wife had just attended.
