At least three people died in another tornado in the southern United States in the state of Arkansas. Two people died in the town of Wynne, Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders told journalists on Friday (local time).
Pulaski County, where Arkansas’ capital Little Rock is located, confirmed a third death to AFP. Just a few days ago, a tornado killed 13 people in Mississippi, which borders Arkansas.
According to Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott, around 30 more people were injured and taken to hospitals in his town. Governor Sanders declared Arkansas a state of emergency and dispatched about 100 National Guard personnel to the area hit by the tornado.
Storms also raged in the north of the USA: According to media reports, part of the roof of a concert hall collapsed during a heavy metal concert in the small town of Belvidere, Illinois, west of the metropolis of Chicago. Numerous ambulances were therefore in use at the scene of the accident.
As the “New York Times” reported, the tornado fell in Arkansas near the capital Little Rock, knocking down trees and damaging houses. According to the website Poweroutage.us, around 74,000 people in Arkansas and 27,000 in Iowa were without power late Friday evening (local time).
Local journalist Lara Farrar told the AFP news agency that the tornado in Little Rock left a “less than 500 meter wide swath of destruction”. The roofs of some buildings were “blown away completely”, the journalist shared pictures of uprooted trees and houses whose walls had been partially torn away. She was “completely shocked” by the damage at Little Rock, Farrar said.
Tornadoes are difficult to predict. They are relatively common in the United States, especially in the center and south of the country.
Last weekend, a hurricane in the state of Mississippi, which borders Arkansas, caused massive damage, especially in the town of Rolling Fork, killing 13 people. In December 2021, around 80 people died in tornadoes in the state of Kentucky. (AFP)
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