HOUSTON, May 31 (Xinhua) -- Flash flooding and tornadoes killed three people in the U.S. state of Arkansas as a powerful storm system moved through the middle of the country, officials said Friday.
About a dozen tornadoes reportedly touched down in mostly rural parts of Arkansas on Thursday, as well as one in Illinois and three in Oklahoma, and forecasters warned that more bad weather was poised to strike Friday, according to local media reports.
State police said there were "confirmed fatalities" in Arkansas during Thursday's floods and tornadoes.
Cody Carpenter, sheriff of Scott County, Arkansas, died while trying to check on local residents during the storm.
Carpenter and wildlife officer Joel Campora had traveled by boat to check two people who called for assistance, and the river swamped the house while they were still inside.
Carpenter's body was recovered about a mile downstream, and Campora and two other women inside the house remained missing Friday, officials said.
A man died after strong winds toppled a tree onto his car in Tull, Arkansas. And a woman in Scott County also reportedly died in the flood.
Thursday's tornadoes were all less dangerous than the to-of-the scale twister that struck Moore, Oklahoma, on May 20, killing 24 and injuring more than 300.
The U.S. averages more than 1,200 tornadoes a year, according to media reports.
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