Violent tornadoes ripped through parts of the US, wiping out schools and toppling semitractor-trailers in several states, part of a monster storm that killed at least 26 people as more severe weather was expected late Saturday.

In western Kansas, a dust storm was reported to have killed eight people as high winds produced blowing dust over the interstate, causing collisions of more than 55 vehicles on the I-70.

In Mississippi, Governor Tate Reeves announced that six people had died in three counties and three more people were missing. There were 29 injuries across the state, he added in a nighttime post.

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.”

In Arkansas, three storm-related deaths have been confirmed in Independence county with an additional 29 people injured in eight counties, according to the Arkansas division of emergency management on Saturday morning.

Three people were killed on Friday in car crashes during a dust storm in Amarillo county in the Texas panhandle, according to Sgt Cindy Barkley of the state’s department of public safety. One pileup involved an estimated 38 cars.

“It’s the worst I’ve ever seen,” Barkley said, calling the near-zero visibility a nightmare. “We couldn’t tell that they were all together until the dust kind of settled.”