On Monday morning, severe thunderstorms triggered by tornadoes swept through the plains and Ozarks region in the southern United States, resulting in at least 19 deaths across four states. Hundreds of buildings were destroyed, and forecasters warned of more severe weather to come.
According to emergency departments in Arkansas, Texas, Kentucky, and Oklahoma, the death toll from the Memorial Day weekend severe weather includes at least 8 in Arkansas, 7 in Texas, 4 in Kentucky, and 2 in Oklahoma.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency earlier on Monday, while the National Weather Service announced that parts of Georgia and South Carolina had issued severe thunderstorm warnings expected to last at least until Monday afternoon.
Two known fatalities in Kentucky occurred in Mercer County and Louisville, where houses were crushed by trees. Beshear posted on social media, saying, “It’s been a difficult night for our people.”
Texas Governor Greg Abbott revealed in a press conference on Sunday that a powerful tornado struck a community near the Texas-North Oklahoma border on Saturday night, resulting in at least seven fatalities, including two children aged 2 and 5 from the same family, with nearly a hundred more injured.
On Sunday evening, Arkansas Governor Sarah Sanders stated that the storms in the state had claimed at least eight lives. A resident with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Arkansas died due to lack of oxygen during a power outage.
According to data from PowerOutage.US, tens of thousands of Americans are expected to face power outages on Monday due to the weather, with over 180,000 people in Kentucky alone experiencing power loss.
The weather service warned of more storms passing through the valleys of Ohio and Tennessee, bringing destructive winds, large hail, more tornadoes, heavy rainfall, and resulting flash floods.
Just in recent days, a rural town in Iowa was hit by a powerful tornado, resulting in four deaths, and Texas experienced more tornado strikes last week.
At this moment, the U.S. is preparing for the start of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season on June 1, with officials predicting it could be an “unusually” active season.
(*Adapted from Reuters reports)