‘Catastrophic:’ Six Dead, Half A Million Without Power As Tornadoes And Floods Hit U.S.

Deadly tornadoes and violent storms tore through the South and Midwest on Thursday, killing at least six people in a “generational flooding” forecasted to continue to devastate the region in the days to come.

Violent winds and tornadoes killed at least six people when storms began late Wednesday night into early Thursday morning, with tornadoes in Arkansas launching debris nearly 5 miles above the ground.

A Tennessee man and his 16-year-old daughter were killed after a tornado tore through their modular home, according to the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office.

The storm has left half a million customers without power across nine states early Thursday, according to PowerOutage.us.

National Weather Service meteorologists warned of a “life-threatening, catastrophic, and potentially historic flash flood event” through Saturday, calling it an event that “happens once in a generation to once in a lifetime.”

Up to 15 inches of rain is forecast for parts of Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois, and Indiana over the next week, with the Oklahoma-based Storm Prediction Center reporting that 90 million Americans were at risk of being directly impacted by the severe weather.

Nashville has also experienced severe flooding.

Heavy flooding due to extreme rainfall in Nashville of Tennessee, USA ???????? pic.twitter.com/XWBzNSf7Up

— Disaster News (@Top_Disaster) April 3, 2025

The severe weather outbreak ravaging the heartland has already put an unprecedented strain on local emergency services in multiple states, with volunteers and first responders working through dire conditions to save lives, AP News reported.

In Jeffersontown, Kentucky, aerial photos showed a trailer sitting atop a semi-truck along with smashed vehicles under collapsed warehouse walls.

In Owasso, Oklahoma, a tornado damaged the roofs of homes and knocked down power lines, trees, and fences.

In Lake City, Arkansas, tornadoes tore off roofs, destroyed homes, and even threw cars into trees.

In western Kentucky, four people were injured while taking shelter in a vehicle under a church carport, with multiple buildings and homes badly damaged.

Emergency crews in Brownsburg, Indiana, worked for hours to free a worker trapped when a roof collapsed at a distribution center.

Five semis were blown over on Interstate 65 near Lowell, Indiana, state police reported, according to WSBT.

Two workers were injured on Wednesday when the roof and a wall collapsed at a Sur La Table distribution center in Brownsburg, Indiana, per WTAE.

A man and his daughter were killed as strong winds tore through his home in Moscow, TN, FOX 13 reported.

Chief Garry Moore of the Whitewater Fire Protection District died in the storm while on duty, said Clark Parrot of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, although the exact cause of death has yet to be determined, per NBC News.

Water rescue teams are being staged as the Federal Emergency Management Agency prepares supplies for affected regions, CBS News reported.

National Weather Service meteorologist Marc Chenard warned that tornadoes are in the forecast every day through Saturday for a dozen states in the Midwest and South.