A large tornado damaged homes and downed trees and power lines in northern Mississippi Monday, one day after a powerful storm system in the central and southern United States killed at least 16 people.
Don Lewis, chief operations officer for Tupelo, Miss., said there were no immediate reports of injuries. He said damages have been reported in several neighborhoods north of the city and emergency crews have spread out to aid residents with recovery.
Areas of western Tupelo also reported some homes damaged and downed trees when the tornado moved past. Forecasters say the tornado sprang for a severe storm front sweeping across the northern part of the state.
Gov. Phil Bryant declared a state of emergency Monday in advance of expected storms that forecasters have warned could trigger tornadoes, heavy downpours, damaging hail and flash floods.
At least 14 people died in Little Rock, Ark., when a twister carved an 80-mile path of destruction through suburbs north of the state capital. Two others were killed in storms in Oklahoma and Iowa, authorities said.
“Just looking at the damage, this may be one of the strongest that we've seen,” Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe said Monday. “And preliminarily -- we haven't done any records checking -- but it looks like this is the largest loss of life that we've seen in one tornado incident since I've been governor.”
The Arkansas tornado touched down about 10 miles west of Little Rock at around 7 p.m. local time and moved northeastward for at least 30 miles, the National Weather Service reported.
The twister shredded cars, trucks and 18-wheelers stuck along Interstate 40 north of Little Rock. After the storm passed, tractor-trailer rigs tried to navigate through the damage to continue their journeys, while gawkers held smartphones to their windows to offer a grim glimpse of the destruction.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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