A tornado hit the metropolitan area of ​​Arkansas’ state capital Little Rock this Fridayon a day when tornado watches had been issued for millions of people from the state in question to Iowa. In addition, the Storm Prediction Center has issued a “high risk” level 5 watch for parts of the Midwest and South.

Due to the Little Rock area tornado emergency, the National Weather Service in North Little Rock, Arkansas, has evacuated to a tornado shelterdetails CNN.

Tornado watches have been issued to 15 million people, from southern Arkansas to northern Iowa starting at 8 p.m., and parts of northeast Texas, northwestern Louisiana and extreme southern Oklahoma starting at 9 p.m.

Storms developing this afternoon and evening are expected to produce a few intense tornadoes, damaging wind gusts of up to 70 mph and golf ball-sized hail. Supervised cities include Chicago, Madison, Wisconsin, Milwaukee, and Rockford, Illinois.

The tornado that swept through Little Rock and surrounding areas this Friday smashed houses, overturned vehicles and hurled trees and debris onto roads as villagers ran for shelterDetails Univision.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the governor of Arkansas, declared a state of emergency, saying there was “significant damage” in the central part of the state. “Arkansans must remain weather aware as the storms continue,” he wrote on Twitter.

Mayor Frank Scott Jr. of Little Rock announced that he was asking the National Guard for help. “Please stay off roads and affected areas so emergency services can operate,” Scott tweeted.

This tornado first hit the neighborhoods on the west side of the city and destroyed a small shopping center. It then crossed the Arkansas River into North Little Rock and surrounding towns, where widespread damage to homes, businesses and vehicles was reported.

Leslie Taylor, a spokeswoman for the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences Medical Center in Little Rock, said the facility was operating at a mass casualty level. Several people came there because of the situation.