U.S. Midwest braces for more twisters

DENNING, Ark., May 25 (UPI) -- The U.S. midsection was on high alert Wednesday for more destructive weather as the death toll mounted from tornadoes that struck the Plains this week.

More than 130 people have died since Sunday night from twisters that demolished parts of Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas and Oklahoma.

Accuweather.com predicted parts of Illinois and Indiana were at the highest risk Wednesday with storms extending from Arkansas to northern Mississippi.

A dozen deaths were added to the toll Tuesday night and early Wednesday, the rest attributable to an EF-5 twister that slammed Joplin, Mo., Sunday evening.

At least three people were confirmed dead in Arkansas Wednesday, KFSM, Fort Smith, reported, with dozens more missing and widespread property damage reported.

"Denning has been destroyed," the National Weather Service said in a statement.

Travel was restricted in Clarksville, where a curfew was imposed and shelters were opened for survivors. Gov. Mike Beebe toured the damaged area Wednesday afternoon.

The search for survivors in Joplin, where 122 were killed, continued. The tornado was the deadliest since 1950, with winds in excess of 200 mph, the Kansas City (Mo.) Star reported.

The newspaper said the tornado was apparently a rare "multivortex" storm -- two or more small and intense centers of rotation orbiting the larger funnel.

Several tornadoes struck Oklahoma City and its suburbs, killing at least eight people and injuring at least 60 others, The Oklahoman reported. Two people were killed in Kansas when a tree was blown into their van northwest of Wichita, the Star said.

The U.S. House Appropriations Committee Tuesday approved $1 billion in emergency disaster aid to help the region around Joplin, but the package still must be passed by the full House and then the Senate.