LITTLE ROCK (US): A monster storm system tore through the South and Midwest on Friday, spawning deadly tornadoes that shredded homes and shopping centres in Arkansas, collapsed a theatre roof during a heavy metal concert in Illinois and made a deadly sweep across the border into rural Indiana.

The storm caused three fatalities in Sullivan County, Indiana, Emergency Management Director Jim Pirtle said in an email early Saturday. The storm damaged homes and some residents were missing in the county seat of Sullivan, located near the Illinois state line about 95 miles southwest of Indianapolis.

At least one person was killed and more than two dozen were hurt, some critically, in the Little Rock area, authorities said. The town of Wynne in northeastern Arkansas was also devastated, and officials reported two dead there, along with destroyed homes and people trapped in the debris.

Authorities said a theatre roof collapsed during a tornado in Belvidere, Illinois, killing one person and injuring 28, five of them severely. The Belvidere Police Department said the collapse occurred as a heavy storm rolled through the area. It said that an initial assessment was that a tornado had caused the damage.

The collapse occurred at the Apollo Theatre during a heavy metal concert in the town located about 70 miles (113 kilometres) northwest of Chicago.

There were more confirmed twisters in Iowa and wind-whipped grass fires blazed in Oklahoma, as the storm system threatened a broad swath of the country home to some 85 million people. The destructive weather came as President Joe Biden toured the aftermath of a deadly tornado that struck in Mississippi one week ago and promised the government would help the area recover.

The weather service is forecasting another batch of intense storms next Tuesday in the same general area as last week.

Weather service is forecasting another batch of intense storms next Tuesday