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At least 36 people have died as severe storms continue to hit the South and Midwest regions of the United States, NBC News reports.
The deaths were reported in Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Mississippi as more than 40 tornadoes were reported in Alabama, Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Illinois, Indiana and Tennessee. At least 12 deaths were reported in Missouri, the most of any state affected by the storms.
Three recent deaths, which included a juvenile, were all reported in Mississippi.
"Please pray for those who lost their life, those who are missing and those leading the search efforts, those who are healing, and their families," Gov. Tate Reeves said in the post shared on his X account.
More than 500 reports of severe weather have been made in the South and Midwest regions since Friday (March 14), which has also included damaging wind gusts and large hail.
Tornado watches remained in effect in portions of Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee and Georgia as of Sunday (March 16) as storms moved eastern. More than 250,000 people in six states were reported to be without power, according to Poweroutage.us, which included an estimated 70,000 in Georgia, the most of any state.
Bill Bunting of the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, told the Associated Press that such severe storms are uncommon in March.
“What’s unique about this one is its large size and intensity,” Bunting said. “And so what that is doing is producing really substantial impacts over a very large area.”