Terrifying moment monster tornado rips apart Arkansas capital Little Rock with 80mph winds

Tornadoes have touched down in several US states across the Midwest, including Arkansas, Illinois, Tennessee, and Iowa, killing at least three people. A monster tornado that was caught on camera tore through the Arkansas capital, Little Rock, destroying homes and flattening entire neighbourhoods, leaving at least 21 people injured. Storms have been particularly severe this year with several powerful storm systems threatening a broad swath of the country that is home to some 85 million people in the South and Midwest. Last week, more than two dozen deadly twisters swept through Mississippi and parts of Alabama killing at least 26. Many cities were at risk including Chicago, Indianapolis, and Memphis, Tennessee.

According to local sources, at least 600 people were injured in the Arkansas area alone, with some injuries reported as ‘critical’. The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Medical Center in Little Rock was operating at a mass casualty level. Reports also suggest that a second tornado was spotted forming in Des Moines. The National Weather Service was tracking about 18 tornado reports, mostly in Arkansas and Iowa reached level 3 or ‘mass casualty’ strength.

The storms caused widespread damage as roofs were ripped away, and walls from many buildings were destroyed, while trees were uprooted and vehicles were flipped over. The Little Rock tornado first crossed the Arkansas River into North Little Rock and surrounding cities, where widespread damage was reported to homes, businesses and vehicles. In the tiny town of Wynne, 100 miles east of Little Rock, the police chief described it as “dozens” being trapped with “total destruction all over town.”

The weather service issued tornado watches to areas stretching from east Texas through the mid-South and Midwest as far north as Wisconsin, urging some 15 million people living in that area to prepare for violent twisters on Friday afternoon and evening and into the weekend. A mass casualty alert was declared at the state’s only major trauma center. Emergency services were quickly on the scene, but the entire area is faced with a clean-up of a damage that swept through entire neighbourhoods.



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