US tornadoes: Biden releases federal funds to Arkansas

Federal aid has been made available to people in the tornado-ravaged state of Arkansas, the White House has said.

The state was one of several across the United States' South and Midwest which suffered the effects of a violent storm system over the weekend.

At least 29 people have died in total - of which five were in Arkansas.

One woman in the badly hit town of Wynne said her family "prayed and said goodbye to each other" as a tornado hit, "because we thought we were dead".

Ashley Macmillan said she, her husband and their children huddled with their dogs in the bathroom. A falling tree seriously damaged their home, but they were unhurt.

Four people died in their small community, located some 100 miles (170km) east of the Arkansas state capital, Little Rock.

"We could feel the house shaking, we could hear loud noises, dishes rattling. And then it just got calm," Ms Macmillan told AP news agency

Wynne High School was badly damaged, with some buildings torn to pieces. One of its teachers, Lisa Worden, said a decision to send pupils home early was critical.

"We got out at 1:30, which was such a God blessing from our superintendent, because otherwise kids would have been on buses and teachers would have still been here. And so that would have been even more devastating.Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders spoke to President Biden about the devastation in parts of the state on Friday.

The destruction reached several states, with fatalities reported in Alabama, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Mississippi and Tennessee.

Tennessee has had highest number of deaths, with twelve reported.

In Illinois, the storms led to the collapse of a theatre roof at a packed heavy metal gig in Belvidere, resulting in one death and 28 injuries.

After the storms worked their way east on Sunday, hundreds of thousands of people were left without power across several states.

Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania were the worst affected, according to the US PowerOutage website.

There were warnings of severe thunderstorms across parts of Texas on Sunday, with the possibility of "very large hail and several tornadoes", the US government's National Weather Service said. The thunderstorms are forecast to affect a number of other states too.

The severe weather comes a week after a rare, long-track twister killed 26 people in Mississippi.

The Mississippi tornado last week travelled 59 miles (94km) and lasted about an hour and 10 minutes - an unusually long period of time for a storm to sustain itself. It damaged about 2,000 homes, officials said.

President Biden visited the state on Friday to pay his condolences

Pray for people who will died in tornadoes

Dear Friends,

Our hearts are heavy with grief, and our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends who have lost loved ones.

The power of nature can be overwhelming, and the destruction caused by a tornado can be devastating. Lives are lost, homes are destroyed, and communities are left in disarray. It is in times like these that we are reminded of the fragility of life and the importance of coming together to support one another.

To those who lost their lives in the tornado, we offer our deepest condolences. Your passing is a tragedy, and you will be missed by those who knew and loved you. We honor your memory and the impact you had on the lives of those around you.

To the families and friends of the victims, we offer our support and sympathy during this difficult time. We know that the pain of loss can be unbearable, but we also know that the human spirit is resilient. It is through the love and support of those around us that we find the strength to carry on.

As a community, we will come together to rebuild and heal. We will work tirelessly to provide aid and assistance to those affected by the tornado. We will honor the memory of those we have lost by continuing to live our lives with compassion and kindness towards one another.

In the face of tragedy, we must not lose hope. We must find comfort in each other and in the knowledge that we are not alone. Let us honor those who have passed by coming together as a community and rebuilding stronger than before.

May the souls of those lost in the tornado rest in peace, and may their memory be a blessing to all who knew them.