US: Tornadoes Strike Arkansas, Illinois, Leave 7 Dead, Dozens Injured

On Friday, Deadly tornadoes hit Arkansas, Illinois, and rural Indiana, through the US South and Midwest, killing 7 people and injuring dozens.

Indiana, Emergency Management Director Jim Birtle said in an email to the AP early Saturday, that the storm killed 3 people in Sullivan County.

The Tornadoes destroyed homes and left some residents missing in the county seat of Sullivan, near the Illinois border about 152 km southwest of Indianapolis.

At least one person was killed and over 20 injured, some seriously, in the Little Rock area, according to authorities.

The town of Wayne in northeastern Arkansas was devastated, and officials reported two deaths there, along with the destruction of some homes, while citizens were trapped under the rubble.

Authorities reported that the roof of a theater collapsed during the storm in Belvedere, Illinois, killing one person and injuring 28 others, five of them in critical condition.

There were more confirmed tornadoes in Iowa, and windswept grass fires raged in Oklahoma, where the storm system threatened a wide swath of the region that is home to about 85 million people.

The Little Rock tornado swept through neighborhoods in the western part of the city first, then crossed the Arkansas River into North Little Rock and surrounding cities, where widespread damage was reported to homes, businesses, and vehicles.

In the evening, Pulaski County officials announced a confirmed death in North Little Rock but did not immediately provide details.

Mayor Frank Scott Jr., who announced he was seeking help from the National Guard, tweeted that the property damage was extensive and they are still responding.