Severe storms raged across the United States over Memorial Day weekend, leaving at least 22 people dead and hundreds injured.
The storm caused the worst damage in parts of Texas and Oklahoma., It is expected to pass through Arkansas and Kentucky before heading up the East Coast Monday night.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear (D) announced at a press conference on Monday that five people had died in the state, including a 54-year-old man who suffered a heart attack while cutting down a fallen tree. The governor had declared a state of emergency early Monday, citing wind damage and reports of tornadoes.
In Oklahoma, authorities said two people died in Mayes County.
Seven people were killed in Cook County, Texas, on Saturday when a tornado struck a rural area near a mobile home park, the Associated Press reported.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott said two children, ages 2 and 5, were among the dead. About 100 people were injured and more than 200 homes and buildings were damaged. Officials said wind gusts in the Valley View neighborhood reached an estimated 135 mph.
“The hopes and dreams of Texas families and small businesses have literally been shattered by storm after storm,” Abbott said.
As of Sunday, Governor Abbott had issued disaster declarations for 108 Texas counties.
Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced Sunday night that eight people had died in Arkansas as a result of the storm. Two deaths were attributed to storm conditions, but not directly to the weather, one of whom suffered a heart attack and another who lost oxygen after losing power.
Other deaths in Arkansas included a 26-year-old woman whose body was found inside a destroyed home in Boone County, authorities said. One person died in Benton County and two in Marion County, records show.
As the storm approached the eastern U.S. late Monday afternoon, residents from North Carolina to Maryland were issued tornado watches, while those from Alabama to New York were under the highest severe weather watch.
By Monday afternoon, more than 400,000 customers were without power, mostly across the eastern U.S., including about 125,000 in Kentucky.
President Biden offered condolences to the storm’s victims on Sunday night, saying he and the first lady were praying for those who lost their lives.
“This comes as communities across the Midwest and South continue to suffer from deadly storms and severe weather,” Biden said in a statement, pledging to send federal disaster aid to the region.
The Associated Press contributed.
First published at 9:04am
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