Tornadoes Rip Through Arkansas, Southern States

Tornadoes ripped through the southern states and devastated neighborhoods, killing at least 17 in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Iowa. Arkansas was hit the hardest by multiple tornadoes and a state of disaster has been declared for three counties.

“Just looking at the damage, this may be one of the strongest that we’ve seen,” Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe said in a news conference on Monday. “And preliminary — we haven’t done any records checking — but it looks like this is the largest loss of life that we’ve seen in one tornado incident since I’ve been governor.” Beebe said that the focus will be on finding and rescuing victims. At least 100 people were injured according to medical officials told the Chicago Tribune. An official death toll has not been confirmed.

[Image: Credit Danny Johnston/Associated Press]


ABC US News | ABC Business NewsA tornado touched down in Arkansas west of the state capital around 7 p.m., the National Weather Service reported. Workers searched through the rubble beginning Sunday night, but did not realize the full extent of the damage until Monday morning. Pictures of flattened homes, businesses, schools circulated on social media. About 16,000 customers are reportedly still without power in Arkansas.

President Barack Obama said that storm victims will receive aid from the government to help with their recovery. The White House commented that Obama is traveling abroad, but has been speaking with Gov. Beebe. The Arkansas National Guard was deployed to assist in the state’s recovery.