At least 30 people have died after powerful tornadoes ripped through parts of the Midwest and South over the weekend.
Confirmed or suspected tornadoes in 11 states damaged homes and businesses, snapped trees and devastated neighborhoods Friday night. It can take days to count all the tornadoes from recent days.
Among the five dead in Indiana are Brett Kincaid, 53, and Wendy Kincaid, 47, of Rossville, Indiana, whose bodies were found at Camp McCormick Creek State Park, where they had been camping, according to Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
There were 13 deaths reported in Tennessee, as an EF-2 tornado ripped through several counties, according to the National Weather Bureau in Nashville.
The dead included at least nine in one county in Tennessee and four in Illinois. Other deaths from the storms that hit Friday night through Saturday were reported in Alabama and Mississippi.
Destroyed planes, hangar pieces and other debris at Robinson Municipal Airport, two days after a tornado hit Palestine, Illinois
There was significant damage in Little Rock, Arkansas. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has already declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard as at least five people have been killed
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on Sunday traveled to Belvedere to visit the Apollo Theater, which has partially collapsed as about 260 people were attending a heavy metal concert. A man in his fifties was pulled from the rubble. died later.
The governor said that 48 others received treatment in hospitals, including five in critical condition.
WTHR reports that Brett and Wendy Kincaid, who were killed in the camper Friday night when the storm hit the McCormick Creek State Park campground in Owen County, were thirsty campers.
Their bodies were found Saturday, according to Indiana conservation officials who said storms devastated the area, specifically the still-closed campground.
Governor Pritzker planned to travel later to Crawford County, about 230 miles south of Chicago, where three people were killed and eight injured when a tornado struck around New Hebron.
Men inspect a vehicle damaged by a tornado in Adamsville, Tennessee, Sunday, April 2, 2023.
Pieces of hangars are seen wrapped around a tree at Robinson Municipal Airport, two days after the tornado hit Palestine, Illinois
Regan Milmayer sits in front of her tornado-damaged home in Adamsville, Tennessee
Tennessee, one of the hardest-hit states since the storms began Friday, initially had seven weather-related deaths. But that rose to 12 after police reported three new deaths Sunday, saying two children and an adult were killed Saturday when a tree fell on a home in Memphis.
Mike Garcia looks at his hurricane-damaged home with a friend in Adamsville, Tennessee on Saturday, April 1, 2023
“We’ve had emergency crews pull people out of their basements because the house collapsed on top of them, but luckily they had that safe space to go to,” Sheriff Bill Rutan said at a news conference.
This tornado was not far from where three people died in Sullivan County, Indiana, about 95 miles southwest of Indianapolis.
Several people were rescued during the night, with up to 12 people reportedly injured.
“I am really shocked that there are not more humanitarian issues,” said Sullivan Mayor Clint Lamb, adding that recovery “is going to be a very long process.”
The National Weather Service confirmed Sunday that a tornado was responsible for storm damage near Bridgeville, Delaware, where severe weather triggered warnings and damaged many homes and closed roads.
Delaware State Police reported that a person was found dead inside a home that was severely damaged by the storm Saturday night.
A car drives by destroyed planes, cut hangars and debris at Robinson Municipal Airport
The tornado flattened parts of Illinois, including Robinson Municipal Airport
Previous storms have made their way through the capital of Arkansas, collapsing the roof of a crowded concert venue in Illinois and Amazing people all over the area Saturday with damage range.
“This means that there is now help from the federal government to support the amazing efforts already underway from the state and local communities,” said Dean Creswell, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, in Little Rock, Arkansas, after visiting some of the hardest hit areas.
Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders had already declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard. At least five people have been killed in her state.
One wild video posted to Twitter shows a woman in Little Rock, Arkansas recording the incoming tornado as a man tries to close a door.
Once they close, the tornado explodes and destroys the building they are in as the phone’s camera continues to rotate.
One wild video posted to Twitter shows a woman in Little Rock, Arkansas recording the incoming tornado as a man tries to close the door
Once they close, the tornado explodes and destroys the building they are in as the phone’s camera continues to roll
People search for salvageable parts near destroyed planes, hangar pieces and other debris while at Robinson Municipal Airport, two days after a tornado struck Palestine, Illinois, United States.
Tennessee, one of the hardest-hit states since the storms began Friday, initially had seven weather-related deaths.
But that rose to 12 after police reported three new deaths Sunday, saying two children and an adult were killed Saturday when a tree fell on a home in Memphis.
Scenes of destruction were left in the path of the Tennessee hurricane, which twisted trees, flattened homes into piles of shingles, and ripped walls from structures still standing.
“The whole house, you could feel it shaking,” said Janice Petrick, whose home’s glass doors and windows blew off as the tornado ripped through Lewis County.
“We all got together.”
Tennessee officials warned that the same weather conditions are expected to return from Friday night into Tuesday.
Storms hit just hours later Biden visited Rolling Fork, Mississippi, where tornadoes last week destroyed parts of the city.
In a statement issued Sunday, President Joe Biden said, “We are working closely with Indiana and other affected states as they assess the damage, and we stand ready to respond to any additional requests for federal assistance.”
