Severe weather is threatening as many as 73 million Americans in the eastern states, after two days of relentless, powerful storms killed up to 34 people, according to the BBC.
US government forecasters have issued warnings of severe thunderstorms from the Gulf of Mexico up to the Great Lakes. The National Weather Service stated: ‘Widespread thunderstorms are forecast across the central Gulf Coast region, with several severe [or] supercell storms possible.’
Sunday and Monday saw US southern states feel the full force of the severe weather, with deadly tornadoes taking lives as well as wreaking havoc on buildings, utility lines and vehicles.
At least 16 people died in Arkansas, Iowa and Oklahoma on Sunday night, with 12 deaths now reported in Mississippi.
Jason Shelton, the mayor of Tupelo in Mississippi, told CNN the damage from the storms was widespread and “devastating”.
As searches for survivors continue in the southern states, the death toll may rise as rescue teams search the wreckage of destroyed buildings.
