Hurricanes and tornadoes kill 15 in the United States – DW – 05/27/2024

At least 15 people were killed in the southern United States after tornadoes and extreme storms struck the states of Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma on Saturday night and Sunday morning (05/26/2024), causing destruction, officials detailed.

Rescue efforts continued and hundreds of thousands of people were left without power after the storm struck part of the region known as the Great Plains. The United States National Weather Service (NWS) counted 25 tornadoes on Saturday.

Tornadoes, a meteorological phenomenon that is difficult to predict, are relatively common in the United States, especially in the central and southern parts of the country.

In Texas, Cook County Sheriff Ray Sappington said at a news conference Sunday that seven people were killed in an area north of Dallas that was devastated by a powerful tornado.

“Unfortunately, I think that number is going to go up,” Sappington earlier told reporters. He said search operations were continuing. The tornado destroyed homes and a gas station where several drivers had sought shelter, causing injuries but no deaths.

Several vehicles were overturned on an interstate highway, while television images showed destroyed property. Sappington described the damage as “pretty extensive.”

Five people died as a result of the storm in Arkansas, according to local officials in Benton, Baxter, Boone and Marion counties. The AP news agency put the death toll in Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma at 15.

In Oklahoma, at least two people were killed after a tornado struck Mayes County Saturday night, local emergency management chief Johnny Janzen told the Fox News affiliate in Tulsa.

In Indiana, the start of the Indianapolis 500 was delayed on Sunday, due to storms in the area, and the public was urged to leave the stands and take shelter. An attendance of 125,000 people was expected at the automobile race, one of the most emblematic races in the United States.

As the storm system moved across the country, about 450,000 customers were left without power in Texas, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky, according to the latest report from the poweroutage.us website. Tornado warnings were still active in many locations.

Last updated at 03:39 CET.

gs (AFP, AP)