At least 30 dead after major storm system barreled through the South and Midwest

At least 30 people were killed after powerful tornadoes tore through parts of the Midwest and South over the weekend.

Confirmed or suspected tornadoes in 11 states destroyed homes and businesses, splintered trees and leveled neighborhoods Friday night. It could take days to tally up all the tornadoes in the last few days.

Among the five dead in Indiana are Brett Kincaid, 53, and Wendy Kincaid, 47, of Rossville, Ind., whose bodies were found at McCormick’s Creek State Park Campground, where they had been camping, according to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.

Thirteen deaths were reported in Tennessee, where an EF-2 tornado tore through several counties, according to the local Nashville office of National Weather.

The dead also included at least nine in one Tennessee county and four in Illinois. Other deaths were reported from the storms that raged late Friday into Saturday in Alabama and Mississippi.

There was heavy damage in Little Rock, Arkansas. Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders had already declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard where at least five people died

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker traveled to Belvidere on Sunday to visit the Apollo Theater, which partially collapsed as some 260 people were attending a heavy metal concert. A 50-year-old man was pulled from the rubble; he later died.

The governor said that another 48 people were treated in hospitals, five of them in critical condition.

WTHR reported that Brett and Wendy Kincaid, who died in their RV Friday night when the storm hit the campground at McCormick’s Creek State Park in Owen County, had been avid campers.

Their bodies were found Saturday, according to Indiana conservation officials, who said storms devastated the area, specifically the campground, which remains closed.

Governor Pritzker later planned to travel to Crawford County, about 230 miles south of Chicago, where three people were killed and eight injured when a tornado struck New Hebron.

Men inspect a car damaged by a tornado in Adamsville, Tennessee, on Sunday, April 2, 2023.

Pieces of a hangar are seen wrapped around a tree at the Robinson Municipal Airport, two days after a tornado struck Palestine, Illinois.

Regan Millmeyer sits in front of her home damaged by a tornado in Adamsville, Tennessee

Tennessee, one of the hardest-hit states since the storms began Friday, initially had seven weather-related deaths. But this rose to 12 after police reported three new deaths on Sunday, saying two children and one adult were killed on Saturday when a tree fell on a home in Memphis.

Mike Garcia looks at his tornado-damaged home with a friend in Adamsville, Tennessee, on Saturday, April 1, 2023.

“We had emergency crews get people out of their basements because the house collapsed on top of them, but luckily they had that safe space to go to,” Sheriff Bill Rutan said at a news conference.

That tornado was not far from where three people were killed in Indiana’s Sullivan County, about 95 miles southwest of Indianapolis.

Several people were rescued overnight, with reports of up to 12 injured.

“I’m very, very surprised that there’s not more in the way of human issues,” Sullivan Mayor Clint Lamb said, adding that recovery “is going to be a very long process.”

The National Weather Service confirmed Sunday that a tornado was responsible for storm damage near Bridgeville, Delaware, where severe weather prompted warnings and damaged numerous homes and closed roads.

A person was found dead inside a heavily storm-damaged home Saturday night, Delaware State Police said.

A car drives past destroyed aircraft, hangar parts and debris at Robinson Municipal Airport

Tornadoes tore through parts of Illinois, including Robinson Municipal Airport

Previous storms ripped a path through the Arkansas capital, collapsing the roof of a packed concert hall in Illinois and awesome people across the region Saturday with the extent of the damage.

“That means there is now assistance from the federal government to support the incredible efforts that are already being made by the state and local communities,” FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said in Little Rock, Arkansas, after visiting some of the most affected.

Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders had already declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard. At least five people died in her state.

A wild video posted to Twitter shows a woman in Little Rock, Arkansas filming the incoming tornado as a man tries to shut the door.

Just as they shut it down, the tornado breaks through and hits the building they are in while the phone’s camera keeps rolling.

A wild video posted to Twitter shows a woman in Little Rock, Arkansas filming the incoming tornado as a man tries to shut the door.

Just as they shut it down, the tornado breaks through and hits the building they are in while the phone’s camera keeps rolling.

People search for salvageable parts near destroyed aircraft, hangar parts and other debris as they stand at the Robinson Municipal Airport two days after a tornado struck Palestine, Illinois, USA.

Tennessee, one of the hardest-hit states since the storms began Friday, initially had seven weather-related deaths.

But this rose to 12 after police reported three new deaths on Sunday, saying two children and one adult were killed on Saturday when a tree fell on a home in Memphis.

Scenes of devastation were left in the path of the Tennessee tornado, which twisted trees, ripped homes into clapboard piles and ripped walls from still-standing structures.

“You can feel the whole house shaking,” said Janice Pieterick, whose glass doors and windows to the home were blown out as the tornado tore through Lewis County.

‘We all snuggle up.’

Tennessee officials warned that the same weather conditions from Friday night are expected to return Tuesday.

The storms struck a few hours later Biden visited Rolling Fork, Mississippi, where tornadoes last week destroyed parts of the city.

In a statement Sunday, President Joe Biden said, “We are working closely with the State of Indiana and other affected states as they assess the damage and stand ready to respond to any additional requests for federal assistance.”