By South China Morning Post | Created at 2025-03-15 17:41:31 | Updated at 2025-03-16 00:49:54
7 hours ago
The threat of violent tornadoes in parts of the US proved deadly as well as destructive as whipping winds moved east into the Mississippi Valley and Deep South on Saturday, with at least 17 people killed and scores of homes decimated.
The most fatalities as of Saturday morning were in Missouri, authorities said, which was lashed by twisters overnight that resulted in at least 11 deaths. The Missouri State Highway Patrol also reported that multiple people were injured.
The deaths included a man who was killed after a tornado ripped apart his home,
“It was unrecognisable as a home. Just a debris field,” said Coroner Jim Akers of Butler County, describing the scene that confronted rescuers when they arrived. “The floor was upside down. We were walking on walls.”
Rescuers managed to save a woman in the home, Akers said.
Officials in Arkansas said on Saturday morning that three people died in Independence County and 29 others were injured across eight counties as storms passed through the state overnight.
