Devastating Tornadoes, Wildfires, and Dust Storms Claim Lives and Ravage Regions in the US

At least 37 fatalities have been reported as tornadoes and wildfires wreak havoc across the Midwest and South, affecting millions.

At least 37 individuals have tragically lost their lives as a series of tornadoes swept across the Midwest and South of the United States, with Missouri experiencing the most severe impact. The tornadoes, which began unleashing destruction on Friday, resulted in at least 12 deaths in Missouri alone. Alongside these tornadoes, powerful winds in Texas and Kansas triggered dust storms that caused deadly vehicle collisions, claiming another dozen lives.

The extreme weather, impacting a region populated by over 100 million residents, fueled nearly 150 wildfires in Oklahoma. Additional fatalities were reported in Arkansas, Alabama, and Mississippi. Flood advisories were issued for parts of Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Georgia, Kentucky, and North Carolina, as more than 320,000 people found themselves without power by Sunday evening, as tracked by PowerOutageUS.

Emergency declarations were made in Arkansas, Georgia, and Oklahoma, where Governor Mike Kehoe of Missouri described the devastation across his state as "staggering," noting that hundreds of homes, schools, and businesses have been either wiped out or severely damaged. The local coroner, Jim Akers, described a scene in Butler County where a tornado turned an entire home into "just a debris field," with floors flipped upside down.

In Oklahoma, nearly 150 wildfires fueled by winds exceeding 83 mph (133 km/h) resulted in multiple articulated lorries being overturned. These wildfires scorched around 170,000 acres, including the destruction of nearly 300 structures, one of which was a farmhouse belonging to Governor Kevin Stitt. Kansas saw at least eight fatalities due to multiple vehicle crashes amid a dust storm, while a dust storm in Texas led to another pile-up involving about 38 cars, resulting in at least four deaths. Mississippi reported six fatalities from tornado-related incidents, and Alabama recorded another three deaths, including an 82-year-old woman.

In response to the crisis, US President Donald Trump announced the deployment of the National Guard to assist in Arkansas’s storm response, urging citizens to pray for those affected by these catastrophic events.