Houthi shipping attacks pose complex diplomatic challenge to next UK government

Yemenis wave Palestinian flags and hold mock rockets during a march in the Houthi-run capital Sanaa in solidarity with the people of Gaza. (AFP)
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Updated 09 December 2024
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Houthi shipping attacks pose complex diplomatic challenge to next UK government

  • Experts divided on whether change in British policy alone can stop Houthi attacks on shipping
  • Red Sea trade routes disruption has increased shipping costs, delayed supplies to UK

LONDON: Whichever political party forms the next UK government after this week’s general election will face major domestic and international challenges, including the crises in Gaza and the Red Sea. 

Experts who spoke to Arab News emphasized the need for diplomatic solutions and support for Palestinian statehood to address these challenges, as disruption to Red Sea trade routes has increased shipping costs and delayed supplies, impacting UK businesses.

Escalating tensions in the region have already prompted British military action. How the next prime minister chooses to respond will shape international relations and have significant implications for domestic economic stability and public opinion.

While polling suggests a potential Labour majority, ending more than a decade of Conservative rule under five successive prime ministers, including incumbent Rishi Sunak, the political landscape remains complex.

The Labour Party has gained ground in many areas and reclaimed councils it has not held in decades, but has also faced setbacks in key constituencies with large student and Muslim communities.




Britain’s PM and Conservative Party Leader Rishi Sunak delivers a speech during a visit during a general election campaign event in northern England, on July 1, 2024 in the build-up to the UK general election on July 4. (AFP)

These traditionally loyal demographics have voiced a distinct reason for this shift — namely Labour leader Keir Starmer’s response to the Gaza issue.

Desire for a ceasefire is high in Britain. A recent YouGov poll in May found that 69 percent think that Israel should stop and call a ceasefire — about the same as the 66 percent who said so in February. And yet the main political parties have been muted on the issue.

Britain’s Arab citizens have been urged by the Arab Voice campaign to support candidates who best serve Arab and Muslim communities, focusing on those who stand with Gaza.

“The situations in Gaza and Yemen have significantly influenced my decision on whom to vote for in the upcoming election,” Randa Al-Harazi, a British-Yemeni political activist, told Arab News.

“The current government’s departure from British values and principles that uphold human rights has been a pivotal factor. Britain’s strong commitment to human rights was a major reason why I chose to migrate to and settle in this country.”




A woman stands holding a child surrounded by the rubble of buildings destroyed during Israeli bombardment in Khan Yunis on the southern Gaza Strip on June 23, 2024.

Escalating international pressure for a Gaza ceasefire has led to huge protests across the UK, notably mobilized by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.

While the general election campaigns of the main parties have primarily focused on domestic issues, the incoming prime minister will have to address the escalating tensions in the Middle East, exacerbated by the Gaza conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Non-state actors within the Iran-led “Axis of Resistance” have launched attacks against British ally Israel, ostensibly in solidarity with Hamas and the broader Palestinian cause, posing a threat to global trade security.

The next prime minister will need to decide whether to continue or reconsider the UK’s involvement amid broader regional instability.




The Houthis have attacked multiple vessels off Yemen’s coast in protest against Western support for Israel in its war in Gaza. (AFP)

As part of the Axis of Resistance, the Houthi militia in Yemen — also known as the Ansar Allah — has responded to the Gaza war by targeting Israeli interests. It has launched rocket and drone attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, initially focusing on cargo ships suspected of having links to Israel.

Simon Mabon, professor of international politics and director of the SEPAD peace and conflict research center at Lancaster University, says advocating for a ceasefire in Gaza and enduring peace in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is of critical importance.

“The Houthis have capitalized on the devastation in Gaza and articulated a clear stance in support of the Palestinian cause,” he told Arab News. “A ceasefire would go some way in undermining this approach, though Houthi attacks have been far wider than just Israeli targets.” 

In response to Houthi attacks on shipping, the US and UK have launched multiple counterstrikes, targeting the militia’s coastal radar installations, unmanned aerial vehicles, surface vessels, weapons storage facilities, missile launch sites and other military assets to degrade their capability to continue attacks.

Despite these efforts, the Houthi militia has vowed to continue attacks and to retaliate against the US and UK. Its latest statements emphasize ending the Gaza war as a primary objective of its attacks while also speaking of avenging its fighters killed in US and UK attacks.




A grab from handout footage released by the Houthis on November 19, 2023, reportedly shows members of the group during the capture of an Israel-linked cargo vessel at an undefined location in the Red Sea. (AFP)

Baraa Shiban, an associate fellow with the London-based Royal United Services Institute, says that despite the UK government’s decision to join the US in protecting shipping lanes, the Yemenis had long foreseen and warned about this eventuality.

“The Red Sea problem, although it is a maritime issue, is primarily a land problem,” Shiban told Arab News. “It stems from the international community’s inability to recognize the importance of a properly functioning state in Yemen.”

Shiban says that the crisis in Yemen has often been treated purely as a humanitarian issue, with a focus on feeding the population. But, according to him, this approach overlooks the underlying problem — the Houthi insurgency that hinders the state’s functionality.

“To ensure maritime security, it is crucial to address the land-based security issues,” he said. “This requires a fresh strategy for engaging with Yemeni parties to help them rebuild stable and effective institutions.”




Protesters hold placards and wave Palestinian flags as they gather in Parliament Square, central London, on June 8, 2024. (AFP)

Instability in Yemen worsened in 2014 when Houthi insurgents took control of Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, forcing the internationally backed government to go into exile in Saudi Arabia in 2015. 

“Greater attention must be paid to the Houthis as a critical issue to be addressed,” said Shiban. “The Houthis pose a significant threat, and this problem is likely to persist for a long time.”

Many Yemenis are sympathetic to the Palestinian cause and highly critical of Israel’s assault on Gaza, which has boosted public support for the Houthi militia. Large demonstrations in cities, both within and outside Houthi-controlled areas, such as Taiz, reflect this widespread sentiment. 

“The support for the Houthis has grown dramatically as a result of their actions, despite the group’s deeply hostile actions in Yemen,” said Mabon. “Taking a firm stance in support of Palestinian statehood is essential.”




Many Yemenis are sympathetic to the Palestinian cause and highly critical of Israel’s assault on Gaza, which has boosted public support for the Houthi militia. (AFP)

The Houthi militia has been able to use this to bolster military recruitment in the regions it controls, aiding its struggle against Yemen’s internationally recognized government and associated armed factions.

Abdulaziz Al-Qadmi, a Yemeni political analyst based in Houthi-controlled Sanaa, believes that the group’s support for the Palestinian cause will continue until Western nations, including the UK, cease their backing of the Israeli government.

“The British government and its Western allies must recognize the high costs of waging war against the Palestinian resistance,” said Al-Qadmi.

“If the UK and US persist in their unlawful assaults on Yemen, they should expect retaliation. Previously, Ansar Allah targeted only ships bound for Israel, but now UK and US vessels will also be vulnerable to attacks.” 

He added: “This fact is a critical consideration for any new UK government. The cycle of violence will only end when the US and UK halt their military operations in Yemen, as their current strategy is proving unsuccessful.”

INNUMBERS

  • 10 Number of additional days it takes for ships to traverse southern Africa to avoid the Red Sea route.
  • 55 percent British Chambers of Commerce exporter members feeling the direct impact of the Red Sea crisis.
  • 300 percent Reported increase in the price of container hire, while delivery times have extended by 4 weeks.
  • 70 percent Proportion of Europe’s car parts shipped through the Red Sea from Asia, which now face disruption.

The strategic importance of the Red Sea in global supply chains has been severely disrupted by Houthi missile and drone attacks, with 107 recorded incidents since the hijacking of the Galaxy Leader on Nov. 19. 

“The Red Sea is central in global supply chains and global trade routes, and disturbances in these supply chains and trade routes can have global reverberations,” Lancaster University’s Mabon said.

Due to these attacks, many shipping companies have opted to avoid the Red Sea, diverting vessels onto the safer but much longer and more costly route around the tip of southern Africa, passing the Cape of Good Hope.

This detour can add 10 days to a journey and increase fuel costs by 40 percent. A British Chambers of Commerce survey in February found that 55 percent of its exporter members have felt the direct impact of the Red Sea crisis. Some reported price rises of 300 percent for container hire and delivery times extended by four weeks.

Manufactured goods from Asia, especially cars, have been the hardest hit. About 70 percent of Europe’s car parts are shipped through the Red Sea from Asia. Due to the disruption, carmakers such as Volvo and Tesla have had to suspend some production lines because of a lack of parts.

Some companies are realigning their supply chains to cope with these challenges. Retailers such as Asos and Boohoo have increased nearshoring, sourcing more products from countries such as Turkiye and Morocco, as well as within the UK.




This handout grab of a video by the French ‘Etat-Major des Armees’ shows a Houthi UAV threatening commercial navigation prior to its destruction by a French army helicopter in the Red Sea on March 20, 2024. (AFP)

This shift helps them to avoid the longer lead times and inflated prices associated with rerouting shipments from Asia.

Extended shipping routes are driving up container freight expenses, approaching levels seen during the pandemic, according to a recent Geopolitical Monitor report.

These escalating costs are expected to trickle down to consumers, given that rising shipping expenses will persistently push prices upward in the short term, the report said. 

Short of a diplomatic solution, the geopolitical risks presented by the Houthi militia are set to increase. “A military solution is not the way forward in addressing the Red Sea crisis,” said Mabon.

“The UK’s influence alone is limited, but as penholder at the UN Security Council, it does have some influence. While the UK has called for an ‘inclusive peace under UN auspices,’ the need for a diplomatic solution that reflects realities on the ground is imperative.”

 


Myanmar village air strike kills at least 12, says local official

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Myanmar village air strike kills at least 12, says local official

  • Myanmar's military seized power in a 2021 coup which has plunged the country into a fractious civil war
Letpanhla: A Myanmar junta airstrike on a village held by anti-coup fighters killed at least 12 people according to a local administrative official, who said the bombardment targeted civilian areas.
Myanmar's military seized power in a 2021 coup which has plunged the country into a fractious civil war and analysts say the embattled junta is increasingly using air strikes to target civilians.
The Friday afternoon strike hit the village of Letpanhla around 60 kilometres (40 miles) north of the country's second biggest city of Mandalay.
The village in Singu township is held by the People's Defence Forces (PDF) -- anti-coup guerillas who took up arms after the military toppled the country's civilian government four years ago.
"A lot of people were killed because they dropped bombs on crowded areas," said the local administrative official, who asked to remain anonymous. "It happened at the time people were going to the market".
"We're currently making a list and have registered 12 people killed," he said on Saturday.
A junta spokesman could not be reached for comment and AFP could not independently verify the death toll. The local PDF unit reported there had been 27 fatalities.
Witness Myint Soe, 62, said he tried to hide as an aircraft came in for a bombing run.
"I heard huge bomb blast sounds at the same time I was hiding," he said. "When I came out and looked at the market area I saw it was on fire."
In the aftermath, buildings which appeared to be homes and a restaurant were ablaze, as people in civilian clothing and camouflage uniforms doused the flames with water.
The limp body of a child with a bloody head wound was loaded into the back of an ambulance by a man whose uniform was marked with the PDF insignia.
Wails of grief could be heard as some of the crowd glanced up towards the sky.
Myanmar is now controlled by a patchwork of junta forces, ethnic armed groups and anti-coup partisans.
The number of military air strikes on civilians has risen year on year during the civil war, according to non-profit organisation Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED), with nearly 800 in 2024.
That figure was more than triple the previous year and ACLED predicted the junta will continue to rely on air strikes because it is "under increasing military pressure on the ground".
"The military will persevere in its indiscriminate aerial attacks on civilian populated areas in an effort to undermine the opposition's support base and destroy their morale," it said in December.
An offensive by an alliance of armed ethnic groups in late 2023 inflicted stinging territorial losses on the junta.
But analysts say the Myanmar air force, which operates with Russian technical support, has been key to fending off its adversaries based mainly in the borderlands.
More than 3.5 million citizens are currently displaced and half the population lives in poverty.

Top US, Russian diplomats discuss next steps on Ukraine

Updated 16 March 2025
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Top US, Russian diplomats discuss next steps on Ukraine

  • Despite recent tensions between President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, Kyiv has agreed in principle to a US-brokered 30-day unconditional ceasefire if Moscow halts its attacks in eastern Ukraine

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke on Saturday to discuss the next stage in talks on ending Moscow’s war against Ukraine.
According to State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce, the top diplomats “agreed to continue working toward restoring communication between the United States and Russia.”
The statement gave no details on when the next round of US-Russia talks, which are being hosted by Saudi Arabia, would begin.
Rubio also updated Lavrov on military activity in the Middle East, where US forces carried out deadly strikes Saturday against Houthi rebel targets in Yemen, the statement said.
Despite recent tensions between President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, Kyiv has agreed in principle to a US-brokered 30-day unconditional ceasefire if Moscow halts its attacks in eastern Ukraine.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has not however agreed to any truce, instead setting conditions that were beyond what was called for in the US agreement with Ukraine.
 

 


On the Mongolian steppe, climate change pushes herders to the brink

Updated 16 March 2025
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On the Mongolian steppe, climate change pushes herders to the brink

  • The vast country is one of the most affected by climate change, by some counts warming three times faster than the global average
  • Across Mongolia, more than seven million animals were killed after a devastating winter wiped

KHARKHORIN, Mongolia: Over a year after a devastating winter wiped out virtually his entire sheep flock, herder Zandan Lkhamsuren is still reckoning with the damage wrought by Mongolia’s increasingly erratic extreme weather.
The vast country is one of the most affected by climate change, by some counts warming three times faster than the global average.
The link between rising temperatures and extreme weather — ranging from droughts and floods to heatwaves and cold snaps — is well-established.
In Mongolia the effects are stark.
Among other consequences, deep freezes like the one that killed Zandan’s herd — known as dzuds — have been growing more frequent and intense.
“Last year’s winter was the hardest I’ve ever known,” the 48-year-old told AFP, describing daytime temperatures of minus 32 degrees Celsius (minus 25.6 degrees Fahrenheit) that plunged to minus 42C at night.

This aerial photo taken on February 20, 2025 shows horses trying to graze on a hill covered with snow in Argalant, in central Mongolia's Tov province. (AFP)

Heavy snowfall and frozen ground meant his sheep could not find food, and all except two of his 280-strong flock perished.
Across Mongolia, more than seven million animals were killed, over a tenth of the country’s total.
“Our livestock used to cover all of our expenses, and we used to live very nicely,” Zandan told AFP as he served hot salted milk tea in his traditional ger home.
But the loss of his animals and the loans he took out to keep feeding a smaller, hardier herd of goats mean he now struggles to make ends meet.
Both his daughters were supposed to start university in the capital Ulaanbaatar last year, but the family could not afford their tuition fees.
“Now my strategy is just to focus on what I have left,” Zandan said.
Next to the ger’s coal burner, a persistent bleating came from a box containing a sickly week-old goat.

As the setting sun cast long shadows over the steppe, Zandan pulled on a thick green brocade jacket and strode outside, whistling as he shepherded his indignant charges into a shelter for the night.
He said he was keeping a positive mindset — if he could boost his goat numbers, he might be able to fund his daughters’ studies further down the line.
“It’s just one downside of herders’ lives,” he said stoically. “But I’m sure we can recover.”
The problem for Zandan — and other agricultural workers that make up a third of Mongolia’s population — is that dzuds are happening more often.
They used to occur about once every 10 years, but there have been six in the last decade or so, according to the United Nations.
And while overgrazing has long contributed to desertification on the steppe, climate change is making things even worse.
Droughts in the summers have made it harder to fatten animals and stockpile fodder for winter.
“Like many other herder men, I always look at the sky and try to predict the weather,” Zandan told AFP.
“But it’s been getting difficult,” he said. “Climate change is happening.”

His motorbike kicking up clouds of dust, 36-year-old Enebold Davaa shared those concerns as he chased his herd across the plain.

Mongolian herder Enebold Davaa on a motorcycle herding his goats in Kharkhorin, in central Mongolia's Ovorkhangai province. (AFP)

Enebold’s family lost more than 100 goats, 40 sheep and three cows last winter.
“It’s our main source of income, so we felt very heavy, it was very hard for us,” he said.
This year’s milder winter had allowed the family to recover some of their losses, but Enebold said he viewed the future with trepidation.
“Of course we are anxious, but there’s nothing we can predict now,” he said.
Local official Gankhuyag Banzragch told AFP most families in the district lost 30 to 40 percent of their livestock last winter.
As herding became more difficult, many families were moving away, he added.
A quarter of Mongolians still lead nomadic lives, but in recent decades hundreds of thousands have left the steppe for urban centers, particularly the capital.
As she boiled horsemeat dumplings, Enebold’s wife said they too might consider a move if they lost more livestock.
“The main challenge is accessibility of education for our children in the city,” she said.
Her husband had a more fundamental reason for staying.
“I want to keep herding my livestock,” he said. “I want to keep the same lifestyle as now.”
 


Why is Ethiopia’s Tigray again on the brink of conflict?

Updated 16 March 2025
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Why is Ethiopia’s Tigray again on the brink of conflict?

  • Power struggle within the once-dominant Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) party has sparked fears of renewed conflict
  • There is concern in Addis Ababa that Eritrea, its historic rival that gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993, will exploit the unrest

ADDIS ABABA: More than two years after a peace deal ended the devastating war in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, a power struggle within the once-dominant TPLF party has sparked fears of renewed conflict.
Could these rising tensions lead to violence so soon after one of the century’s deadliest conflicts that killed an estimated 600,000 people?

The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) ran the whole of Ethiopia for nearly three decades until Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, a non-Tigrayan, took power in 2018.
His takeover led to months of tension with the TPLF leadership, eventually leading Abiy to send troops to Tigray in November 2020, accusing their forces of attacking federal army camps.

This triggered two years of horrific war between Tigrayan rebels and government forces backed by militias and Eritrean troops. It finally ended with a November 2022 peace treaty, known as the Pretoria Agreement.
A new interim administration was created in Tigray with TPLF veteran Getachew Reda in charge, though overseen by the federal government.
But divisions have emerged in recent months between Getachew and the TPLF’s leader, Debretsion Gebremichael.

Getachew faces criticism over delays in implementing the peace deal — particularly the failure to expel Eritrean forces who supported the federal government against the Tigrayans, and return the million people displaced by the war.
The Tigray Defense Forces (TDF) had previously stayed neutral in the Getachew-Debretsion dispute.
But in January, a dissident group within the TDF accused Getachew’s administration of undermining “the Tigrayan people’s national interest and engaging in treason.”
One foreign expert, who did not want to be named, estimated around 200 commanders supported the letter.
Getachew described it as declaring “a coup d’etat.”

In early March, he attempted to suspend three TDF generals and accused Debretsion’s faction of trying to “take over the whole of Tigray.”
This week, Debretsion’s forces took control of the municipalities in state capital Mekele and second city Adigrat, putting their own mayors in place.

General view of Mekele, the capital city of the Tigray region in northern Ethiopia. (AFP)

Many residents, already deeply weary of war, are panicking over the threat of renewed conflict with reports of bank runs and sold-out flights.
Getachew has asked for assistance from the federal government in Addis Ababa, though he said this should not be military in nature.
The federal government has not responded publicly.

There is concern in Addis Ababa that Eritrea, its historic rival that gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993, will exploit the unrest.
Eritrea’s rhetoric has been increasingly bellicose. Last month, its information minister accused Ethiopia of “waging an intense and unacceptable campaign against Eritrea” and committing “malicious provocations.”
A security source told AFP on condition of anonymity that armed Ethiopian convoys were heading toward the region of Afar, which borders Eritrea, in recent days.
Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki’s dissatisfaction with the 2022 peace agreement, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s ambitions for a Red Sea port and geopolitical interest from the Middle East have fueled the deteriorating tensions, said Kjetil Tronvoll, Oslo University professor specializing in the region.
That has left the “two countries inching closer to a new war,” he said.
 


At least 26 dead in massive US storm after Kansas reports 8 fatalities

Updated 16 March 2025
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At least 26 dead in massive US storm after Kansas reports 8 fatalities

  • Wildfires elsewhere in the Southern Plains threatened to spread rapidly amid warm, dry weather and strong winds in Texas, Kansas, Missouri and New Mexico

Violent tornadoes ripped through parts of the US, wiping out schools and toppling semitractor-trailers in several states, part of a monster storm that has killed at least 26 people as more severe weather was expected late Saturday.
The number of fatalities increased after the Kansas Highway Patrol reported eight people died in a highway pileup caused by a dust storm in Sherman County Friday. At least 50 vehicles were involved.
Missouri recorded more fatalities than any other state as it withstood scattered twisters overnight that killed at least 12 people, authorities said. The deaths included a man who was killed after a tornado ripped apart his home.
“It was unrecognizable as a home. Just a debris field,” said Coroner Jim Akers of Butler County, describing the scene that confronted rescuers. “The floor was upside down. We were walking on walls.”
Dakota Henderson said he and others rescuing people trapped in their homes Friday night found five dead bodies scattered in the debris outside what remained of his aunt’s house in hard-hit Wayne County, Missouri.
“It was a very rough deal last night,” he said Saturday, surrounded by uprooted trees and splintered homes. “It’s really disturbing for what happened to the people, the casualties last night.”

Henderson said they rescued his aunt from a bedroom that was the only room left standing in her house, taking her out through a window. They also carried out a man who had a broken arm and leg.
Officials in Arkansas said three people died in Independence County and 29 others were injured across eight counties as storms passed through the state.
“We have teams out surveying the damage from last night’s tornadoes and have first responders on the ground to assist,” Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on X.
She and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp declared states of emergency. Kemp said he was making the declaration in anticipation of severe weather moving in later Saturday.
On Friday, meanwhile, authorities said three people were killed in car crashes during a dust storm in Amarillo in the Texas Panhandle.
Extreme weather encompasses a zone of 100 million people
The deaths came as a massive storm system moving across the country unleashed winds that triggered deadly dust storms and fanned more than 100 wildfires.
Extreme weather conditions were forecast to affect an area home to more than 100 million people. Winds gusting up to 80 mph (130 kph) were predicted from the Canadian border to Texas, threatening blizzard conditions in colder northern areas and wildfire risk in warmer, drier places to the south.
The National Weather Service issued blizzard warnings for parts of far western Minnesota and far eastern South Dakota starting early Saturday. Snow accumulations of 3 to 6 inches (7.6 to 15.2 centimeters) were expected, with up to a foot (30 centimeters) possible.
Winds gusting to 60 mph (97 kph) were expected to cause whiteout conditions.
Evacuations were ordered in some Oklahoma communities as more than 130 fires were reported across the state. Nearly 300 homes were damaged or destroyed. Gov. Kevin Stitt said at a Saturday news conference that some 266 square miles (689 square kilometers) had burned in his state.
The State Patrol said winds were so strong that they toppled several tractor-trailers.
Experts said it’s not unusual to see such weather extremes in March.
Tornadoes hit amid storm outbreak
The Storm Prediction Center said fast-moving storms could spawn twisters and hail as large as baseballs on Saturday, but the greatest threat would come from winds near or exceeding hurricane force, with gusts of 100 mph (160 kph) possible.
Significant tornadoes continued to hit Saturday. The regions at highest risk stretch from eastern Louisiana and Mississippi through Alabama, western Georgia and the Florida panhandle, the center said.
Bailey Dillon, 24, and her fiance, Caleb Barnes, watched a massive tornado from their front porch in Tylertown, Mississippi, about half a mile (0.8 km) away as it struck an area near Paradise Ranch RV Park.
They drove over afterward to see if anyone needed help and recorded a video depicting snapped trees, leveled buildings and overturned vehicles.
“The amount of damage was catastrophic,” Dillon said. “It was a large amount of cabins, RVs, campers that were just flipped over — everything was destroyed.”
Paradise Ranch reported on Facebook that all its staff and guests were safe and accounted for, but Dillon said the damage extended beyond the ranch itself.
“Homes and everything were destroyed all around it,” she said. “Schools and buildings are just completely gone.”
Some of the imagery from the extreme weather has gone viral.
Tad Peters and his dad, Richard Peters, had pulled over to fuel up their pickup truck in Rolla, Missouri, Friday night when they heard tornado sirens and saw other motorists flee the interstate to park.
“Whoa, is this coming? Oh, it’s here. It’s here,” Tad Peters can be heard saying on a video. “Look at all that debris. Ohhh. My God, we are in a torn ...”
His father then rolled up the truck window. The two were headed to Indiana for a weightlifting competition but decided to turn around and head back home to Norman, Oklahoma, about six hours away, where they encountered wildfires.
Wildfires elsewhere in the Southern Plains threatened to spread rapidly amid warm, dry weather and strong winds in Texas, Kansas, Missouri and New Mexico.
A blaze in Roberts County, Texas, northeast of Amarillo, quickly blew up from less than a square mile (about 2 square kilometers) to an estimated 32.8 square miles (85 square kilometers), the Texas A&M University Forest Service said on X. Crews stopped its advance by Friday evening.
About 60 miles (90 kilometers) to the south, another fire grew to about 3.9 square miles (10 square kilometers) before its advance was halted in the afternoon.
High winds also knocked out power to more than 200,000 homes and businesses in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan, according the website poweroutage.us.