A major storm system that started moving through the South and the Midwest starting Friday has killed at least 30 people, according to NBC.
President Joe Biden said in a statement Sunday that he has been in touch with officials in affected states, including Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana and Delaware, and that he had directed his administration “to help with immediate needs and long-term rebuilding.”
“While we are still assessing the full extent of the damage, we know families across America are mourning the loss of loved ones, desperately waiting for news of others fighting for their lives, and sorting through the rubble of their homes and businesses,” Biden said in the statement. “There’s nothing we can do to heal the hole left in the hearts of far too many families who lost loved ones this weekend, but we will be there every step of the way as they rebuild and recover.”
Thirteen of the deaths are in Tennessee, where an EF-2 tornado struck Wayne and Lewis counties on Friday night, later also hitting McNairy and Hardin counties, according to the National Weather Service field office in Nashville.
Nine of the deaths were in buildings that were destroyed down to their foundations in McNairy County, according to McNairy County Sheriff Guy Buck.
A tornado crossed the entire county and stayed on the ground for over 30 miles causing “every kind of damage imaginable,” Buck told NBC News.