Arkansas tornado kills 3, Midwest storms leave 3 dead

The Arkansas tornado whipped across the state in the afternoon, causing what Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders called "widespread damage."

The National Weather Service issued tornado warnings for parts of the nearby states of Tennessee, Illinois, Kentucky and Iowa.

In the evening, calamity struck Belvidere, Illinois, when severe weather caused the roof and part of the facade of the Apollo Theater to collapse while a heavy metal band played on stage inside.

"More than 20 ambulances were reportedly called to the scene," Fox 32, a Chicago TV affiliate, reported on its website.

Belvidere Fire Chief Shawn Schadle reported one dead and 28 injured in the disaster, with five hospitalised with severe injuries.

TV footage showed emergency personnel carrying out injured concert-goers on stretchers, while video posted on social media showed rubble -- some nearly waist-high -- on the floor of the concert venue, and a gaping hole in the roof.

"My administration is closely monitoring the roof collapse at the Apollo Theatre in Belvidere tonight," Illinois Governor JB Pritzker tweeted in the late evening.

In neighboring Midwest state Indiana, two people were confirmed dead after a storm swept through Sullivan County, Indiana state police told CBS/FOX-affiliated TV station WTHI.

Images posted on Twitter by WTHI showed downed telephone poles, crumbled homes and debris covering roads.

Authorities in Pulaski County surrounding the state capital said it suffered "significant storm and tornado damage."

More than 78,000 people were without power across the state, according to Poweroutage.us.

The governor's office could not immediately confirm any casualties to AFP, but a local hospital told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette newspaper that it had already begun to receive patients, including "a few" in critical condition.

Tornadoes are common in the United States, especially in the center and south of the country.