Tornadoes leave at least 22 dead in US states

Kathmandu: Violent storms and tornadoes have left at least 22 people dead in the South and Midwestern parts of the United States, injuring dozens and leaving thousands without power.

Storms and tornadoes ripped through on Friday in seven states of US South and Midwestern region, killing at least 22 and injuring dozens of people as well as causing destruction and damage to the homes and businesses.

The dead included seven in the state of Tennessee, five in neighboring Arkansas, and four in Illinois. Other deaths were reported in the states of Indiana, Alabama and Mississippi.

In Madison County, Alabama, one person died and five were injured overnight, officials said during a news conference Saturday morning.

In Pontotoc County, Mississippi, one person died, and four others were injured, according to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.

Officials said storms killed four people in the city of Wynne and one in North Little Rock of Arkansas. in Illinois, four people lost their lives after the collapse of a residential structure in Crawford County and roof at the Apollo Theater in Belvidere.

Three people were killed in Indiana by a storm Friday night that damaged homes and a volunteer fire department near Sullivan.

According to the US Power Outage website, over 590,000 people are without power across several states in the country, with Ohio and Pennsylvania being the worst affected.

Friday’s storms and tornadoes followed a twister in Mississippi a week ago which killed 26 people.