Severe storms struck regions of the United States over Memorial Day weekend, killing at least 22 people and injuring hundreds.
The storms caused the most damage in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Kentucky before heading eastward on Monday evening.
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Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) stated at a press conference on Monday that five individuals had died in his state, including a 54-year-old man who died of a heart attack while clearing down fallen trees. The governor announced a state of emergency early on Monday, citing reports of wind damage and tornadoes.
Officials in Mayes County, Oklahoma, reported the deaths of two people.
The Associated Press reports that a tornado tore through a rural area near a mobile home park on Saturday in Cooke County, Texas, killing seven people.
According to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, the dead included two children, aged two and five. Officials reported approximately 100 individuals injured and over 200 homes and structures destroyed. Wind gusts in the Valley View neighborhood reached an estimated 135 mph, according to officials.
“Storm after storm has literally crushed the hopes and dreams of Texas families and small businesses,” Abbott said.
Abbott declared a disaster for 108 Texas counties on Sunday.
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders of Arkansas confirmed Sunday evening that the storms in Arkansas claimed the lives of eight individuals. Storm conditions were the cause of two deaths, but not directly due to the weather, as one individual suffered a heart attack and another lost oxygen after losing power.
Other deaths in Arkansas included a 26-year-old woman discovered inside a wrecked home in Boone County, officials said. According to records, one individual died in Benton County, while two more died in Marion County.
As storms reached the eastern United States late Monday afternoon, residents from North Carolina to Maryland were under tornado watches, while those from Alabama to New York were on high alert for severe weather.
By Monday afternoon, more than 400,000 customers were without power, largely in the eastern United States, including around 125,000 in Kentucky.
President Biden expressed his sympathies for the storm fatalities Sunday evening, adding he and his first wife were praying for those who died.
“This comes as communities across the Midwest and South are still reeling from deadly storms and severe weather,” Biden said in a statement, pledging federal disaster support for the region.
