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Several killed, dozens hurt as tornadoes slam Midwest

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Social Links for Ruth Brown
Published April 30, 2017
Updated April 30, 2017, 4:13 p.m. ET
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Cars and trucks are damaged as the walls blew out of the I-20 Dodge dealership after a tornado hit near Canton, Texas.AP
Ernestine Cook of Canton inspects the damage done to the I-20 Dodge dealership after a tornado hit Canton, Texas.AP
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Ambulances and emergency vehicles line up at Canton High School after a tornado ripped through the city of Canton, in Texas.AP
A car is part of the tornado debris field that was piled up on State Highway 80 in Fruitvale, Texas.AP
A home missing it's roof and trees that have been stripped bare are seen along State Highway 80 in Fruitvale, Texas, after a tornado swept through late Saturday.AP
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A little girl is one of at least nine people killed and dozens injured by a wild storm that battered Texas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Arkansas overnight, according to reports.

The 10-year-old was swept away by flash floods while playing with her brother near their Springdale, Ark., home on Saturday evening, the Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette reports — one of three victims in the state.

A 24-year-old woman died while tubing on a creek in Eureka Springs, and a 65-year-old woman died when the gale send a tree branch crashing through her DeWitt home, Arkansas Online reports.

The tempest also sent four tornadoes tearing through three towns east of Dallas, killing at least four and putting some 55 more in the hospital, the Weather Channel reports.

The twisters touched down in Eustace, Caney City and Canton just after 7:20 p.m., destroying cars and houses in its wake and leaving many locals with nothing.

“Sucked the house right off on top of us. The roof and everything collapsed on us,” canton resident William Melton told a local NBC affiliate. “Me and a buddy of mine shielded the kids with the roof.”

In southern Missouri, the storm caused severe flooding that killed at least two and forced nearly a hundred others to evacuate.

A 72-year-old woman drowned in the town of Clever after the rushing water washed away her car, the Springfield News-Leader reports. 

An 18-year-old man also drowned near the town of Crocker after driving into a flooded area, according to the Weather Channel.

Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens declared a State of Emergency after troopers evacuated 93 people and rescued 33 others.

No deaths have been reported in Oklahoma so far, but Gov. Mary Fallin also declared a state of emergency after the squall battered utilty poles and left tens of thousands without power, KWTV reports.

Flash flood warnings remain in the area as the storm moves east, and heavy rain continues to batter the Lower Ohio Valley through the northern Gulf Coast, according to the Weather Channel.