Europe 1 with AFP 15:43 pm, 02 April 2023

According to U.S. authorities, at least 24 people have died in the southern, east-central and eastern United States as tornadoes and severe storms have tornados and severe storms torned homes and businesses apart. More than 650,000 homes were without power Saturday in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Kentucky and West Virginia.

At least 24 people have died in the southern, east-central and eastern United States as tornadoes and severe storms tornadoes and violent storms tore homes and businesses to pieces, according to authorities. Tennessee has nine deaths from severe weather, all in McNairy County, east of Memphis, Mayor Larry Smith told local broadcaster WREG on Saturday. They are in addition to 15 victims in the southern states of Arkansas, Mississippi and Alabama, as well as Indiana and Illinois in east-central and Delaware on the east coast.

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Potential high winds in Pennsylvania and New York

In Delaware, the "collapse of a structure" in Sussex County left one dead Saturday night, according to the local rescue center, while the weather service also warned neighboring states such as Pennsylvania and New York state of high winds and potential tornadoes. Little Rock, the capital of Arkansas, was hit hard. Residents woke up Friday to upturned cars, huge trees uprooted, telephone poles smashed and homes gutted. At least five people have died in the state, according to its governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

"We know that many people have had to be displaced and are looking for shelter," Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. said. The northeastern city of Wynne was "roughly cut in half by east-west damage," Mayor Jennifer Hobbs told CNN.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who said Saturday that she had discussed the situation with President Joe Biden, had triggered the state of emergency the day before and deployed a hundred national guardsmen. Mississippi authorities reported one dead and several injured in Pontotoc County, about 200 miles south of Memphis. An elderly person was also killed in Alabama when a tornado hit his home, detailed the authorities of the city of Huntsville, near the border with Tennessee.

650,000 homes without electricity

In the north of the country, in the small town of Belvidere, west of Chicago in the state of Illinois, part of the roof and façade of the Apollo Theatre collapsed in the middle of a concert of a heavy metal band due to the passage of a violent storm. Belvidere Fire Chief Shawn Schadle reported one dead and 28 injured, including five hospitalized with serious injuries. Television footage showed injured bystanders being evacuated on stretchers, and on social media, photos showed a pile of debris reaching the waist and a gaping hole in the roof in the room.

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In Crawford County, three people were killed by a house collapse, Illinois Emergency Management Agency spokesman Kevin Sur said. In the neighboring state of Indiana, three people were killed by a storm in Sullivan County, according to authorities, quoted by several US media.

More than 650,000 homes were without power Saturday in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Kentucky and West Virginia, according to the US website PowerOutage. Tornadoes, weather phenomena as impressive as they are difficult to predict, are common in the United States, especially in the center and south of the country. A week ago, a tornado swept across the Mississippi River, killing 25 people and causing immense property damage. President Joe Biden visited the site on Friday. In December 2021, about 80 people lost their lives after tornadoes hit Kentucky.