US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden listened to Rolling Fork Mayor Eldridge Walker speak during a press conference in a storm‑stricken area of Rolling Fork, Mississippi, on March 31, 2023. The Bidens were visiting the town a week after a tornado devastated the community, killing at least 25 people. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP)
A tornado tore through Arkansas on Friday, killing three people and causing “widespread damage,” according to Governor Sarah Sanders. Two fatalities occurred in the town of Wynne in eastern Arkansas, and another death was confirmed in Pulaski County, which surrounds the capital, Little Rock. Sanders wrote on Twitter that “significant damage has occurred in Central Arkansas.” Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. reported that “close to 30 individuals have been transported to our local hospitals.” The National Weather Service also issued tornado warnings for parts of Tennessee, Illinois, Kentucky and Iowa.
In the evening, severe weather struck Belvidere, Illinois, when the roof and part of the façade of the Apollo Theatre collapsed while a heavy‑metal band performed. Fox 32, a Chicago TV affiliate, reported that more than 20 ambulances were called to the scene. Belvidere Fire Chief Shawn Schadle confirmed one death and 28 injuries, five of which were severe enough to require hospitalization. Video footage showed emergency personnel carrying injured concert‑goers on stretchers, rubble piled waist‑high on the floor, and a gaping hole in the roof. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker tweeted that his administration was closely monitoring the roof collapse at the Apollo Theatre.
In neighboring Indiana, two people were confirmed dead after a storm swept through Sullivan County. State police told CBS/FOX‑affiliated station WTHI that the storm left downed telephone poles, crumbled homes and debris covering roads. Images posted on Twitter by WTHI illustrated the extensive damage.
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