12 KILLED AS VIOLENT STORMS RATTLE MIDWEST, SOUTH OF USA
HARRISBURG, Illinois, U.S.A. - A pre-dawn twister flattened entire blocks of homes in a small Illinois town on Wednesday as violent storms ravaged the Midwest and South, killing at least 12 people in three states.Winds also ripped through Branson, Missouri, damaging some of the city's famous theatres just days before the start of the busy tourist season.
The tornado that blasted Harrisburg in southern Illinois, killing six, was an EF4, the second-highest rating given to twisters based on damage. Scientists said it was 182 metres wide with winds up to 273km/ph.
By midday, townspeople in the community of 9,000 were sorting through piles of debris and remembering their dead while the winds still howled around them.
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