DEVASTATION as deadly tornadoes rip through the US causing chaos in the south and midwest

VIOLENT tornadoes ripped through southern and midwest US on Friday March 31, which destroyed homes and shopping centres in Arkansas and brought down a theatre roof during a heavy metal concert in Illinois, reports The Guardian.

Seventy miles (113km) northwest of Chicago, one person was killed and 28 injured when the roof of the Apollo Theatre collapsed in the town of Belvidere.

Shawn Schadle, chief of the Belvidere fire department, said there were 260 people in the venue at the time.

Belvedere’s police chief, Shane Woody, described the scene as “chaos, absolute chaos”.

North Little Rock, Arkansas saw a brutal tornado devastate the area, where one person was killed, and with more than 50 hospitalisations.

Further east in the town of Wynne, officials reported two dead, along with people trapped in the debris of their destroyed homes. Spokesperson, Lisa Powell Carter said, “I’m in a panic trying to get home, but we can’t get home,” she said. “Wynne is so demolished … There’s houses destroyed, trees down on streets.”

More viscous tornadoes struck Iowa and Oklahoma, where gusts of up to 60mph (96km/h) fuelled fast-moving grass fires.

It was only a week ago that President Joe Biden promised the government would help, following the aftermath of a deadly tornado that struck Mississippi.

Poweroutage.us, reported that nearly 90,000 customers in Arkansas lost power, with more than 109,000 customers in Illinois. Power cuts were reported in Iowa, Missouri, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Indiana and Texas.

Meteorologists said conditions on Friday were similar to those a week ago that unleashed the devastating twister that killed at least 21 people and damaged about 2,000 homes in Mississippi.

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