At least 17 dead in US tornadoes and severe storms | Abroad

Dozens of cyclones were reported in seven states in the last 24 hours. At least five people were killed in Arkansas, Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders said at a press conference. She declared a state of emergency and mobilized the National Guard.

Residents of the state capital, Little Rock, awoke to exploding cars, uprooting trees, snapping telephone poles and destroying homes. The city of Vine, in the northeastern part of the state, was “practically cut in half by the damage,” Mayor Jennifer Hobbs told CNN.

In the small town of Belvidere, Illinois in North America, the roof of the Apollo Theater collapsed during a heavy metal concert. According to the local fire chief, one person died and dozens were injured. 5 of them have been hospitalized with serious injuries. At the time of the wreckage, the storm was gusting at 145 kilometers per hour.

In neighboring Indiana, three people were killed when the storm hit Sullivan County. Two people died in Alabama and Mississippi.

According to US specialty website Poweroutage, hundreds of thousands of homes are without power in Indiana, Ohio, Arkansas and Illinois. Dozens of people have been hospitalized. Many roads are still impassable.

A week ago, powerful storms hit the southeastern United States. At least 26 people were killed. An overnight tornado nearly leveled the entire community of Rolling Fork, Mississippi. The maximum wind speed was 273 kilometers per hour.