at least eight dead after tornado in Arkansas and thunderstorms in Illinois

Arkansas, Illinois and Indiana plagued by violent weather events. At least eight people were killed by tornadoes and violent storms which hit these States on Friday, March 31. Strong winds and thunderstorms are now moving towards the northeast of the country.

In Arkansas, a devastating tornado killed at least four people and injured nearly 30, the disaster management service of this rural state in the southern United States told AFP. “Central Arkansas suffered significant damage”explained Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who declared a state of emergency and deployed a hundred National Guardsmen.

Further north in Illinois, the partial collapse of a theater in violent thunderstorms left at least one dead and 28 injured, authorities said, including five hospitalized with serious injuries. In the small town of Belvidere, west of Chicago, part of the roof and facade of the Apollo Theater collapsed in the middle of a concert by a heavy metal band due to the passage of a violent storm . In the neighboring state of Indiana, three people were killed by a storm in Sullivan County, according to the authorities, quoted by several American media.

Uprooted trees, gutted houses

In Arkansas, the tornado left in its wake a spectacle of desolation with overturned cars, huge uprooted trees, broken telephone poles and gutted houses. The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued tornado warnings for parts of neighboring states like Tennessee, Illinois and Iowa.

At least 154,000 homes were without electricity on Saturday, according to the American site Poweroutage (in English). The National Weather Service has also warned of high winds and strong storms that could hit the northeast of the country, including Ohio, on Saturday.