US: Severe storms kill at least 19 people, destroy infrastructure

Severe storms in the United States have killed at least 19 people including two children, and left a wide scale of destruction across Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas after obliterating homes and destroying a truck stop where drivers took shelter.

Seven deaths were reported in Cooke County, Texas, near the Oklahoma border, where a tornado Saturday night plowed through a rural area near a mobile home park, officials said.

April and May have been busy months for tornadoes, especially in the Midwest. Iowa was hit hard last week, when a deadly twister devastated Greenfield. Other storms brought flooding and wind damage elsewhere in the state.