At least 21 people lost their lives as tornadoes and storms swept through central areas of the US, devastating homes and cutting power to hundreds of thousands.
The fatalities included seven in northern Texas, five in Arkansas, two in Oklahoma, and one in Kentucky and more. Many others were injured, and nearly 500,000 people were left without electricity across several states on Sunday.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott declared that more than a third of all counties in his state were now under a disaster declaration.
Sheriff Ray Sappington of Cook County, Texas, reported that the death toll there included two children, aged two and five, as well as three members of the same family.
“It’s just a trail of debris left,” said the sheriff of Valley View area, which was among those hardest hit by a powerful tornado. “The devastation is pretty severe.”
Footage from the county revealed a petrol station and rest stop almost completely demolished, with twisted metal strewn across damaged vehicles.
Tornadoes overturned trucks, closed a highway near Dallas, and left tens of thousands of people without power across the region.
Additionally, lightning, thunder, and heavy rain prompted the evacuation of approximately 125,000 spectators, delaying Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 race by four hours.
Everything gone in two minutes
Frank Soltysiak, a resident of a mobile home park in north Texas, said his home was destroyed within minutes as a storm swept through.
Mr. Soltysiak was at a nearby restaurant when the owner drove by, honking his horn and urging everyone to evacuate, he told CBS News, the BBC’s US partner.
He quickly grabbed his dog, Sampson, and sought refuge in the restaurant’s walk-in refrigerator.
“That was the most secure structure you could have gone to. And I come out, and everything is destroyed,” he said.
“In a matter of two minutes, it’s gone, everything is gone.”
Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick said that state emergency response units had been activated to respond to the tornado.
“Please pray for these families,” he said of those whose loved ones were killed. “Their loss is unfathomable.”
The storms in Texas coincided with record-breaking heat in parts of the state, with residents receiving triple-digit temperature warnings over the Memorial Day holiday weekend.
In Oklahoma, two people were killed in Mayes County and six others were injured, the local emergency management authority told the BBC.
Arkansas officials reported that a 26-year-old woman was found dead outside a destroyed home in Olvey, and another death was reported in Benton County. The state also reported multiple injuries.
Police officials in Rogers, Arkansas, said they rescued several people trapped after a tornado downed trees and power lines, damaging gas supply lines.
In Kentucky, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenburg confirmed on social media that a man had been killed by a falling tree during a severe storm on Sunday.
Storms move east
By Sunday afternoon, the storm system had begun moving east, according to the National Weather Service, which warned of severe wind and hail for those in its path.
In a press conference Governor Abbot said: “We are going through the heart-wrenching loss of life, including the heartbreak of a family losing a two-year-old and a five-year-old child.
“When they woke up yesterday, they had no way of knowing how the family would be literally crushed by this horrific storm.”
Approximately 470,000 people were without power across states ranging from Texas to Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Kentucky, according to Poweroutage.us.
A spokesperson for Sedgwick County, Kansas, which includes Wichita, told CBS News that emergency services were dealing with downed trees and power lines from a storm, leaving about 8,000 customers without power.
The latest tornadoes follow another powerful twister that tore through a rural Iowa town and killed four people earlier in May.
Government forecasters have also predicted an “extraordinary” 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, beginning next month.
