US tornado death toll rises to 12

A violent weather system that claimed 12 lives in Oklahoma and Arkansas amid tornadoes and flash floods gave way to clearing skies as the storms trekked toward the US east coast today.

A tornado killed nine people as it charged down Interstate 40 in Oklahoma City’s western suburbs on Friday night, twisting billboards and scattering cars and tractor-trailers along a roadway clogged with rush-hour motorists leaving work or fleeing the storm’s path. Flash floods in Arkansas killed three early on Friday, including a sheriff attempting a water rescue.