At least 3 dead from tornadoes in Arkansas as twisters ravage US

By Darren Lyn

HOUSTON, United States (AA) - At least three people are dead and dozens more hospitalized after several tornadoes touched down Friday in the US state of Arkansas, according to news outlets.

The twisters hit the state’s capital of Little Rock and the city of Wynne -- destroying homes, flipping vehicles and ripping trees from the ground.

Video from Wynne showed the storm leveling entire city blocks and obliterating buildings as it pummeled through.

The town was “cut in half by damage from east to west,” Mayor Jennifer Hobbs told CNN. “We are still in triage mode,” Hobbs said, explaining that emergency crews were still working to determine the severity of the damage and assess if there are any other fatalities or injuries.

The National Weather Service issued dozens of tornado watches and warnings throughout the South and Midwest affecting millions of residents from Tennessee and Kentucky to Alabama and Mississippi to Illinois, Indiana and Michigan.

A blanket of thunderstorm warnings was also issued in those states with hail and heavy rains accompanying the powerful storms.

The latest round of severe weather comes one week after a series of deadly storms ripped through the southeast with one tornado killing at least 26 people in Rolling Fork, Mississippi.

Meteorologists said that twister roared through the small community with maximum winds estimated at 170 miles per hour (281 kilometers per hour).

President Joe Biden visited Rolling Fork on Friday before the latest outbreak of tornadoes.

"Folks, I know there’s a lot of pain and that it’s hard to believe, at a moment like this, this community is going to be rebuilt, and rebuilt and built back better than it was before," Biden told reporters.

"And I just want you to know, as you fight through this, you’re not alone," he said. "The American people will be with you. They’ll help you through it, and so will I."