A deadly tornado outbreak has left a trail of destruction across central areas of the US, claiming the lives of at least 15 people and injuring scores more. The storms tore through northern Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kentucky, leaving a path of devastation in their wake.
In northern Texas, a mobile home park was smashed by the tornado, with seven people losing their lives, including two young children and three members of the same family. The sheriff of Cook County described the scene as a “trail of debris” with severe devastation in the Valley View area.
Frank Soltysiak, a resident of the mobile home park, recounted how his home was destroyed within minutes as the storm passed through. He sought shelter in a nearby restaurant’s walk-in refrigerator and emerged to find everything gone in just two minutes.
The storms also caused widespread power outages, with almost 500,000 people left without electricity across several states. The Indianapolis 500 race was even delayed by four hours due to lightning, thunder, and heavy rain.
As the storm system moved east, the National Weather Service issued warnings of severe wind and hail for those in its path. Hundreds of thousands of people were left without power in states stretching from Texas to Kentucky.
The latest tornado outbreak comes on the heels of a powerful tornado that struck a rural Iowa town earlier in May, claiming four lives. Government forecasters are also predicting a potentially “extraordinary” 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, set to begin next month.
The communities affected by these devastating storms are now left to pick up the pieces and rebuild in the wake of this tragic natural disaster.
