Photos and Videos Show Horrific Tornado Devastation Across Four States

Photos and videos have begun to emerge on social media showing the devastating destruction inflicted by tornadoes across multiple states in the Midwest and the South.

Friday night saw another round of powerful tornadoes cut across parts of the United States, only one week after similar storms obliterated whole towns in Mississippi. As first responders make their way through the wreckage, reports as of Saturday morning suggest that 10 people were killed by the storms. Photos and videos have also begun to circulate online showing the scale of the tornadoes' destruction in at least four states: Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa.

Aaron Rigsby, a photographer and storm chaser, shared what appeared to be drone footage to Twitter on Saturday morning, showing "horrific #tornado damage in Sullivan, Indiana." Located near the border with Illinois, Sullivan is a town of roughly 4,200 people located 27 miles south of Terre Haute.

The short clip Rigsby shared showed a neighborhood littered with debris ripped from homes, with most buildings seemingly stripped to their frames. A longer video exploring the damage was shared to his YouTube channel.

Another Twitter user, meteorologist Kevin Lighty, shared a collection of photos taken in Robinson, Illinois, a town located just 43 miles southwest of Sullivan with a population of around 7,100. The photos featured extensive damage done to cars, trees torn apart, and an education center building with a corner ripped away by a tornado.

Meanwhile, Twitter user Nick Sortor on Friday evening shared a video capturing some of the earlier damage done by the storm in the Arkansas capital city of Little Rock. While numerous buildings seen in the video were still standing, the storm caused extensive damage to trees in the area as well as to vehicles. Sortor also noted reports from local media that roughly 600 injuries had been caused by the storm.

Another Twitter video showed damage in the town of Coralville, Iowa, with debris littering the scene, buildings leveled, and at least one large vehicle flipped on its side.

midwest tornado damage
Extensive damage caused by Friday tornadoes in Little Rock, Arkansas, is seen. Numerous videos and photos surfaced on Saturday morning showing similar damage across at least four states. Benjamin Krain/Getty Images

In addition to photos and videos showing the aftermath of the storms, several users have also shared clips purporting to show some of the actual tornadoes that touched down, particularly near Little Rock.

In addition to sharing a clip of a tornado, journalist Brian Krassenstein also noted local reports that local fire stations were heavily damaged by the storm.

Similarly strong tornadoes ripped through parts of Mississippi and Northern Alabama on the evening of March 24. At least 26 people have been reported dead as a result of those storms, with half being from the small Mississippi town of Rolling Fork.

Newsweek reached out to the National Weather Service press offices for comment.

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Thomas Kika is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in upstate New York. His focus is reporting on crime and national ... Read more

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