DEVASTATING DESTRUCTION

Violent Tornadoes Kill at Least 27 Across Southern and Middle U.S.

Violent storms and tornadoes ravaged the U.S. over the weekend, destroying homes and sparking wildfires.

At least 27 people have died after destructive storms and tornadoes ravaged parts of the South and Midwest over the weekend. Nine of the people killed in the deadly storms came from one Tennessee county, east of Memphis, while residents of Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Illinois, and Mississippi also perished. The storms even led to wildfires in some southern plains states, with Oklahoma officials saying at least 32 people were injured and 40 homes destroyed amid mass fires. In Memphis, an adult and two children died when a tree fell on their house, a police spokesman said, as storms tore up homes and buildings across the country. Part of the roof of the Apollo Theatre in Illinois caved in during a concert more than 250 people attended, burying and killing a 50-year-old man, and injuring 40 others. “I sat with him and I held his hand and I was telling him, ‘it’s going to be OK,’” concertgoer told local station WTVO-TV. “I didn’t really know much else what to do.”