A strong storm system moving across the central and southern United States has spawned several tornadoes, killing at least 16 people in an outbreak forecasters say could continue Monday as the storms continue traveling to the east.
The suburbs of Little Rock, Arkansas were the hardest-hit areas Sunday. Officials in the southern state say tornadoes killed at least 15 people there.
Another person died earlier Sunday after a tornado touched down in the south-central state of Oklahoma.
The powerful winds from the tornadoes also destroyed dozens of homes, knocked down trees and flipped over cars.
President Barack Obama expressed his condolences to the victims Monday during a visit to the Philippines, and said the government would help those affected to recover and rebuild.
The National Weather Service warned of potentially strong storms with tornadoes Monday in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee.
The storm system is hitting on the third anniversary of one of the worst tornado outbreaks in U.S. history, which killed more than 300 people and included nearly 300 reported tornadoes across the nation’s southeast.