The death toll from a string of tornadoes in the Midwest and South has reached at least 17, almost all in Arkansas. Dozens of homes were destroyed, and thousands of people have lost power. In the Arkansas town of Vilonia, a witness described the flattening of an entire neighborhood.

Phil Ellis: “I saw some of the biggest trees just turned upside down and literally the houses picked up and set on top of cars. Over there, some of the garages are just literally out — the cars and the garage in the yard.”

The deaths are the first of this year’s tornado season in the United States.