Residents across the United States rushed Sunday to assess the damage caused by fierce storms that spawned potentially dozens of tornadoes from the South and Midwest into the Northeast, killing at least 32 people.
The storms ripped through Arkansas’s capital and also collapsed the roof of a crowded concert venue in Illinois, astounding residents throughout the region with the extent of the damage.
“While we continue to assess the full extent of the damage,” said President Joe Biden in a statement. “We know that families across America are grieving the loss of loved ones, anxiously awaiting news of others fighting for their lives, and sorting through the wreckage of their homes and businesses.”
Large portions of the nation were previously designated major disaster zones by Biden, freeing up federal resources and funding for recovery. Arkansas saw at least five fatalities.
The National Guard had already been activated and a state of emergency had already been declared by the governor, Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
It has been confirmed or suspected that tornadoes in 11 states have destroyed homes and businesses, split trees, and wreaked havoc in neighborhoods.
A tornado on Sunday damaged a number of homes close to Bridgeville, Delaware, according to the National Weather Service. The Delaware State Police reported that a single person was discovered deceased Saturday night inside a severely damaged home.
All of the recent tornadoes could take several days to confirm. In one Tennessee county, nine people were killed, five in Indiana, and four in Illinois.
Other people were killed as a result of the storms that hit Friday night and Saturday in Alabama and Mississippi.
Residents of Wynne, Arkansas, a town of about 8,000 people located about 50 miles (80 kilometers) west of Memphis, Tennessee, awoke Saturday to find the high school’s roof shredded and windows were blown out. At least four people were killed.
Ashley Macmillan described how she, her husband, and their children huddled in a bathroom with their dogs as a tornado passed through, “praying and saying goodbye to each other, because we thought we were dead.” A falling tree severely damaged their home, but they were unharmed.
As bulldozers plowed into the debris, chainsaws buzzed. As some neighborhoods began to recover, utility crews restored power.
According to Patrick Sheehan, director of the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, Tennessee recorded at least 15 deaths, including nine fatalities in McNairy County, east of Memphis.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee visited the county on Saturday to inspect the damage and comfort residents.
Following a school shooting in Nashville that left six people dead, including a family friend whose funeral he and his wife had just attended, he described the storm as the “worst” week of his governorship.
This community, county, and state have all experienced terrible things, according to Lee. However, it seems that your community has reacted and rallied in the manner of Tennessee communities.
Rachel Milam and her 6-year-old daughter lived in the basement with her mother and her mother’s boyfriend in their home on the outskirts of Waynesboro, Tennessee.
As the tornado approached and made whooshing sounds like a washing machine, everyone crammed into the bathroom of the cinder block basement on Friday night.
Milam, a nurse, quickly joined other neighbors in rescuing people from wrecked homes. One woman was flown out by helicopter after suffering a laceration to her face and other parts of her body. Rescuers using chainsaws to cut through the debris freed another man from the rubble of his home.
That tornado passed through Sullivan County, Indiana, about 95 miles (150 kilometers) southwest of Indianapolis. Several people were rescued overnight, with up to 12 people injured, according to reports.
