Tornadoes and Thunderstorms Devastate Central US as Over 120 Millions Under Severe Weather
By Boniface Ihiasota, USA
More than 120 million Americans woke up to severe weather warnings on Monday following massive storms that killed at least 22 people and wreaked havoc across the central United States, Excel Magazine International can report.
Tornadoes and devastating thunderstorms left nearly 600,000 residents in 13 states without power, obliterated homes, and injured hundreds.
Forecasters warned that the greatest weather risk is now moving east, affecting a wide area from Alabama to New York. More thunderstorms, damaging wind gusts, hail, and flash flooding are expected.
They further stated that heavy rain is set to batter parts of the east coast, with thunderstorms anticipated on Monday afternoon in the northeast and mid-Atlantic regions.
Washington, Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania are all at risk of tornadoes. Additionally, searing heat continues to grip parts of the US South.
Excel Magazine International reports that Sunday marked the busiest severe weather day in the US this year, with over 600 reports of storm damage across 20 states. Tornadoes and heavy winds reduced buildings to rubble, flipped cars, and downed power lines.
Lightning, thunder, and heavy rain forced the evacuation of approximately 125,000 spectators as Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 race was delayed by four hours.
Fatalities were reported in several states: Arkansas: 8 deaths; Texas: 7 deaths; Oklahoma: 2 deaths; Kentucky: 4 deaths; and Alabama: 1 death (a 79-year-old woman killed by a fallen tree)
Kentucky Governor, Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency on Monday after storms pummeled much of the state. “Last night, many families and communities were not safe,” he said.
“We had devastating storms that hit almost the entire state.” Confirming four deaths, Governor Beshear noted a fifth person is “fighting for their life.”
Excel Magazine International further gathered that in Colorado, a farmer and 34 of his cows were killed by a lightning strike.
In Texas, Governor Greg Abbott stated that more than a third of the counties are under a disaster declaration after severe weather swept through the state.
All seven deaths in Texas were reported in Valley View, Cooke County, near the Oklahoma border, following a tornado that struck a rural area near a mobile home park.
Among the victims were two children, aged two and five, and three members of the same family. Footage from the area showed a filling station and rest stop nearly destroyed, with twisted metal scattered over damaged vehicles.
The latest tornadoes follow another powerful twister that tore through a rural Iowa town, killing four people earlier in May.
Government forecasters have also warned of a potentially “extraordinary” 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, which begins next month.
