Devastating Tonardo Outbreak In United States Claims Lives, Destroys Properties

The first major US tornado outbreak of 2014 has claimed lives of at least 21 people, Reuters reported.People in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Kansas took shelter on Sunday night as a swarm of tornadoes drove through the area, hitting communities still recovering from a strong storm system that left 316 people dead in May 2011.

The largest tornado made landfall on Sunday around 7pm local time about 10 miles (16km) west of Little Rock, Arkansas. The twister continued for 80 miles, growing to be a half-mile wide.
At least 14 people in Arkansas were killed, according to the state’s department of emergency management. Ten of those were killed in Faulkner County, where the suburbs of Mayflower and Vilonia are considered to be the hardest-hit regions of the storm. The number was revised downward on Monday from an initial 16 reported dead, after state officials said some victims had been counted twice.

"It sounded like a constant rolling, roaring sound," Mayflower resident Becky Naylor told the AP. "Trees were really bending, and the light poles were actually shaking and moving. That's before we shut the door, and we've only shut the door to the storm cellar two times."

More than 150 homes were destroyed in Faulkner county, and the local hospital, Conway Regional Medical Center, said about 100 patients were treated for injuries. Among the rubble in Vilonia was the remains of structures and homes rebuilt after the 2011 storm devastated the city. One of these structures was a new $14m intermediate school set to open in the fall.

"There's just really nothing there anymore,” said Vilonia schools superintendent Frank Mitchell. “We're probably going to have to start all over again.”


Dozen of tornadoes have been reported in Franklin, Davis, Monroe, Linn, York, Polk and Lee county. 
At least sixteen people died in suburbs of Little Rock, the state capital and largest city in Arkansas. A state of emergency has been declared in Georgia.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is working with local officials in the area to coordinate recovery and response. "Your country will be there to help you recover and rebuild, as long as it takes,” The US president Obama said.

Arkansas emergency workers and volunteers were conducting door-to-door house checks because of the far-ranging destruction in rural communities and loss of power in several areas. The National Weather Service advised emergency workers to be cautious with recovery efforts as the next round of storms was due to hit on Monday
 
 References :

• http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014

• http://www.disaster-report.com/2014/