United States: At least 17 people have been killed and dozens more hospitalized after several tornadoes touched down Friday in the South and Midwest of United States, including the state of Arkansas, according to reports.
The twisters hit the state’s capital of Little Rock and the city of Wynne — destroying homes, flipping vehicles and ripping trees from the ground.
Video from Wynne showed the storm levelling entire city blocks and obliterating buildings as it pummelled through.
The National Weather Service issued dozens of tornado watches and warnings throughout the South and Midwest affecting millions of residents from Tennessee and Kentucky to Alabama and Mississippi to Illinois, Indiana and Michigan.
A blanket of thunderstorm warnings was also issued in those states with hail and heavy rains accompanying the powerful storms.
The latest round of severe weather comes one week after a series of deadly storms ripped through the southeast with one tornado killing at least 26 people in Rolling Fork, Mississippi.
Meteorologists said that twister roared through the small community with maximum winds estimated at 170 miles per hour (281 kilometers per hour).
Seven weather-related deaths in Tennessee were confirmed Saturday, bringing the total number of fatalities to 17, after devastating storms and tornadoes scraped the South and Midwest Friday into early Saturday.
At last 2,100 residents in the pathway of the tornado were affected, and neighborhoods and commercial businesses were flattened. While more than 30,000 people are still without power.
