[imagesource:twitter/briankrassenstein]
Little Rock in Arkansas has been ripped to shreds by a giant tornado.
In fact, a series of deadly storms barrelled through the south and Midwest of the US over the weekend.
Meteorologists believe the twisting winds travelled a solid 52 kilometres across Arkansas, causing widespread damage and a trail of power outages and overturned vehicles.
A woman was even forcibly pulled out of a building as she filmed the strong winds approaching. Newsweek reported that the amazing video footage has been viewed more than a million times on Twitter already:
Woman from Little Rock, Arkansas was filming the Tornado for TikTok like and takes direct hit and gets sucked out of a building into the parking lot… pic.twitter.com/RTp67AvU95
— Southland Post (@SouthlandPost) April 2, 2023
This woman may have survived the threatening pull, but a few other people lost their lives:
A few of the tornadoes took the lives of at least 26 people, according to the Associated Press, including four in the small town of Wynne, Arkansas. Another woman was suspected to have been killed by a tornado in Madison County.
In the state’s capital, Little Rock, officials said over 2,600 buildings were in the path of tornadoes. In the Little Rock area, one person was killed and a further 50 were said to be injured, some critically.
The National Weather Service (NWS) classified the Little Rock tornado as an EF-3 with estimated peak winds of 165 miles per hour (265 kilometres per hour) and a maximum width of 600 yards (548 metres).
Current situation in Little Rock Arkansas #Tornado pic.twitter.com/yhicmRHk4D
— Angel Landry (@ANGELBABYHOOT) March 31, 2023
EF-3 is the third highest rating out of five on the Enhanced Fujita scale used to grade the wind speed of tornadoes based on the damage they cause.
Little Rock, Arkansas just got hit by a major tornado. Many people lost their homes and damage is still to be estimated
We are safe and blessed, thank you for all who reached out
Please keep all people here in your thoughts and prayers pic.twitter.com/PCiDoqMX9R
— Samer Al Hadidi, MD,MS,FACP (@HadidiSamer) March 31, 2023
The last time a tornado like this hit the area was in January 1999.
Absolutely crazy footage of the Little Rock, Arkansas tornado. pic.twitter.com/IhY0z9xZd8
— QENNY Southsider (@AKBrews) April 2, 2023
The NWS has warned residents to “prepare for another possible round of severe weather”.
That’s the alarming thing – as the climate crisis ramps up, we’re going to see more and more videos of terrifying tornadoes ripping into city after city.
[source:newsweek]
