The end of the week saw severe weather claim the lives of seven people across the nation on Thursday and Friday.
Mena, Arkansas Tornado Claims Three Lives
Daylight Friday in the western Arkansas town of Mena brought a devastating sight after a tornado tore through the town killing three people and injuring at least 24. Reports are that hundreds of homes and businesses have been destroyed in the town of 5,000.
Tornado sirens blared yesterday evening in the town warning of the coming danger. At about 8:30pm local time the twister struck. Two women and one man lost their lives in the storm. One victim died in a collapsed house, another in a front yard and the third in a Masonic Lodge.
Click here for more details in our story on Examiner.com.
Wildfires in Texas and Oklahoma Wildfires Claim Two Lives, Injure Dozens
Wind-driven wildfires in Texas And Oklahoma proved deadly Thursday afternoon as a Texas couple was killed in the blazes and dozens more injured. The fires in western and central Oklahoma injured at least 34 people and burned over 100 homes. In Texas, a former television reporter and his wife were killed.
High winds, low humidity and an abundance of dry fuels sparked the wildfires and made for prime conditions for them to quickly burn out of control. In Oklahoma the fires started along I-35 and forced its closure for a time although it is now open. Entire towns were evacuated including Healdton, Sparks, Velma, Wellston and Midwest City.
Click here for more details in our story on Examiner.com.
Mother and child killed by tornado in Murfreesboro, Tennessee
A mother and her three month old baby were killed in Murfreesboro, Tennessee today when a tornado went through the central part of the state Friday. The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency reports that 30 were also injured by the twister as a line of storms stretching from Alabama, across Tennessee and into Kentucky wreaked havoc. The deadly twister comes on the heels of one that killed three people in Arkansas Thursday.
The mother and child whose lives were lost were taken to Middle Tennessee Medical center but were dead when they arrived. The city of 105,000 saw roofs ripped from homes and trees downed as the twister struck the northern and western parts of the city.
