At least 34 people have died and dozens were injured after tornadoes and violent storms hit the central and southern United States, local authorities and American media reported on Saturday.
These storms started in the southern part of the country on Friday and moved towards the Great Lakes region near the Canadian border.
Worldwide outage tracker PowerOutage reported that about 250,000 homes were without electricity on Saturday evening. Missouri authorities confirmed 12 storm-related deaths in a statement on X. Six people died in Mississippi, according to Governor Tate Reeves.
In Kansas, at least eight people were killed in a series of car accidents involving around 50 vehicles, police said.
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Texas authorities told AFP that four people died in car accidents caused by poor visibility due to dust storms and fires. These weather conditions led to significant pile-ups.
In Arkansas, three people died and at least 29 were injured, according to the authorities. CNN and NBC reported that one person died in a wildfire in Oklahoma.
More tornadoes, described as “potentially violent” by the national weather services, were expected on Saturday in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee.
Winds were expected to reach speeds of 120 km/h, according to the same source.