Residents across a wide swath of the South and Midwest on Sunday raced to assess the destruction wreaked by storms that dropped possibly dozens of tornadoes and killed at least 26 people in small towns and big cities, as severe weather moved into parts of the Northeast.
Earlier storms tore a path through the Arkansas capital, collapsing the roof of a packed concert venue in Illinois and stunning people throughout the region Saturday with the damage’s scope.
A daunting recovery begins in the South and Midwest after tornadoes kill at least 26
The White House announced Sunday that it would provide federal resources, including financial assistance, to support recovery efforts after President Joe Biden issued a major disaster declaration.
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders had already declare a state of emergency and activated the National Guard.
Death toll rises to 26 after tornadoes sweep across the South and the Midwest
A daunting recovery begins in the South and Midwest after tornadoes kill at least 26
Death toll rises to 26 after tornadoes sweep across the South and the Midwest
Confirmed or suspected tornadoes in at least 10 states destroyed homes and businesses, splintered trees and laid waste to neighborhoods across a broad swath of the country.
Teams from the National Weather Service on Sunday were investigating reports of tornadoes touching down in New Jersey and Delaware, the president’s home state, where severe weather prompted warnings across a widening area. Numerous homes were damage and roadways shut down in southern Delaware, authorities said.
Residents of Wynne, a community of about 8,000 people 50 miles (80 kilometers) west of Memphis, Tennessee, woke Saturday to find the high school’s roof shredded and its windows blown out. Huge trees lay on the ground, their stumps reduced to nubs. Broken walls, windows and roofs pocked homes and businesses.
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Debris lay scattered inside the shells of homes and on lawns: clothing, insulation, toys, splintered furniture, a pickup truck with its windows shattered.
Ashley Macmillan said she, her husband and their children huddled with their dogs in a small bathroom as a tornado passed, “praying and saying goodbye to each other, because we thought we were dead.” A falling tree seriously damaged their home, but they were unhurt.
“We could feel the house shaking, we could hear loud noises, dishes rattling. And then it just got calm,” she said.
Recovery was already underway, with workers using chainsaws and bulldozers to clear the area and utility crews restoring power.