US tornado death toll rises to at least 18 as twister hits Tupelo

At least one person died when a powerful tornado devastated the town of Tupelo, the birthplace of Elvis Presley.

The death toll in Mississippi, however, is expected to climb with fears that several have died. Media reports put the toll at seven.

“It was real bad. We’re trying to pull people out,” Tupelo Police Chief Bart Aguirre said.

So far, deaths have been confirmed in Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Iowa and Alabama.

In north Alabama, Limestone County Emergency Director Rita White said the coroner’s office had confirmed two deaths in a twister that caused extensive damage west of the city of Athens.

In the towns of Vilonia and Mayflower in Arkansas, the state that was first hit by the severe storm system, emergency officials are searching for survivors in the debris.

The National Weather Service has warned that more tornadoes, damaging winds and very large hail would strike today in Louisiana.

Emergency crews in Tupelo are going from house to house, searching damaged buildings.

“Obviously there has been storm damage. It’s a very serious situation,” Tupelo Mayor Jason Shelton said.

“I am just encouraging everyone to stay inside and be weather aware. There is still a very real danger of another line coming through and people still need to be inside.”

SEVERE WEATHER: Massive Wedge Tornado moves through #Tupelo, MS. 1st damage pics coming in. Thoughts & prayers 4 all! pic.twitter.com/xj2PBGFAp2

— Andrew Kozak (@Andrew_Kozak) April 28, 2014

According to reports on Twitter, the house where Presley was born — which is now a museum — has not been damaged in the storm.

In south-eastern Iowa, one person died and others were injured after powerful storms swept through the state.

Keokuk County emergency management co-ordinator Larry Smith said a resident was killed when strong winds caused an outbuilding to collapse in a rural area near Kinross.

Another person was critically injured when a barn blew over near Martinsburg.

“We’ve got a powerful storm system affecting the eastern two-thirds of the United States over the next few days,” said Russell Schneider, director of the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma.

Winston County, MS at 4:12p CT. MT @NWSJacksonMS: This is the #tornado RT @markandertoncfd hwy 19 and hwy 25 pic.twitter.com/dzmZKTnb6x

— TWC Breaking (@TWCBreaking) April 28, 2014

Brandon Morris, spokesman for the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management, said crews were sifting through the rubble in the hope of uncovering survivors and to assess the full extent of the destruction.

“Right now, the main focus is life safety,” Morris said. “We’re trying to make sure everyone is accounted for.”

A meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Arkansas said he was virtually certain the storm that hit the towns of Vilonia and nearby Mayflower would be rated as America’s strongest twister to date this year.

Meteorologist Jeff Hood said the storm could have been an EF3, with winds greater than 218kmh. He said officials are studying the environmental impact.

Storm ratings for Sunday’s twisters were not immediately available. Before Sunday, the US had not had a tornado rated EF3 or higher since November 17, a streak of 160 days, the fourth-longest on record. This also would be the latest date for a storm rated EF3 or higher. The previous latest big storm for a year was March 31, 2002.

The Arkansas twister shredded cars and trucks along Interstate 40, the main corridor north of Little Rock. After the storm passed, big trucks tried to navigate through the damage as gawkers captured photos of the destruction.

Vilonia police chief Brad McNew said the Arkansas town of 4,000 had been rendered unrecognisable.

“It’s houses completely down to the foundations,” he told NBC television. Through the night, rescuers used searchlights in blacked-out areas, sifting through mountains of rubble in the hopes of finding someone alive.

Late Sunday, emergency workers and volunteers went door-to-door checking for victims and survivors.

Becky Naylor, 57, of Mayflower, said up to 22 people “packed like sardines” into her storm cellar as the tornado approached.

“People were pulling off the highways and were just running in,” said Naylor.

Men held the cellar doors tight to prevent the tornado from ripping them apart.

“It sounded like a constant rolling, roaring sound,” she said. “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.”

The other time was in 2011, during an EF-2 tornado that followed nearly the same path and killed at least four people.

“This storm was much stronger,” Vilonia Mayor James Firestone told ABC’s Good Morning America early on Monday. “The devastation was just tremendous.”

At a news conference in the Philippines, President Barack Obama sent his condolences and promised the government would help in the recovery.

“I want everybody to know that your country will be there to help you recover and rebuild as long as it takes,” he said.

Sunday was the third anniversary of a day when 122 tornadoes struck parts of Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia and killed 316 people.

The White House said Obama called Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe to offer federal assistance.

Sunday’s tornado crushed large trucks like empty cans, homes were violently ripped in half, and entire residential blocks were reduced to rubble.

Some homes were uprooted from their foundation. In Iowa, the tornado also dumped heavy rain, snapped trees and lifted the roof off a medical centre in the town of Oskaloosa.

Dozens of homes were also reported destroyed in nearby Kansas, although officials so far have reported no fatalities there.