Severe storms battered the US South and Midwest on Friday, creating deadly tornadoes that toppled homes and shopping malls in Arkansas and caused the roof to collapse at a rock concert in Illinois.
At least one person was killed and more than 20 injured, some seriously, in the Little Rock area, according to authorities.
The town of Wayne in northeastern Arkansas was devastated, and officials reported that two people were killed there, in addition to the destruction of some homes and trapped citizens under the rubble.
Authorities said the roof of a theater collapsed during a tornado in Belvedere, Illinois, killing one person and injuring 28 others, five of them seriously.
The Belvedere Police Department said the collapse occurred when a severe storm swept through the area and communications began coming in from the theater at 7:48 p.m.
Belvedere Fire Chief Sean Shadel said 260 people were in the theater.
He added that paramedics also rescued a person from an elevator and had to deal with downed power lines outside the theatre.
Belvedere Police Chief Shane Woody described the scene after the collapse as "chaos ".
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