Storms leave at least 11 dead

DYERSBURG, Tenn. – Severe storms swept across the Midwest on Sunday, killing at least 11 people in Tennessee, Missouri and Illinois, officials said.

Local emergency officials reported eight deaths in west Tennessee’s Dyer County, and the number of fatalities could rise, said Kurt Pickering, spokesman for the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency.

In Missouri, strong winds were blamed for the deaths of at least two people. In Illinois, a man was killed when a clothing store in Fairview Heights, east of St. Louis, collapsed in high winds, police Capt. Nick Gailius said.

Emergency crews were searching the rubble for any additional victims, their progress slowed by a gas leak, Gailius said. Others were injured in the collapse, he said.

In Tennessee, the National Weather Service reported that tornadoes were spotted in five counties in Tennessee’s northwest corner, and officials said the storms caused extensive damage to buildings.