- 'It's chaos here," Vilonia mayor says
- In Mayflower, a highway was littered with crushed and overturned vehicles
- Emergency dispatcher: 'Please tell the public to stay away'
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Mayflower, Arkansas (CNN) -- A brutal band of severe weather battered the central Plains and mid-South late Sunday, killing at least 12 people in Arkansas and one in Oklahoma.
Some of the worst damage was north of Little Rock, Arkansas, where reported tornadoes devastated the towns of Mayflower and Vilonia.
"It's chaos here," said Vilonia Mayor James Firestone. "Our downtown area seems like it's completely leveled."
1.The "Tri-State Tornado," which killed 695 people and injured 2,027, was the deadliest tornado in U.S. history, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The tornado traveled more than 300 miles through Missouri, Illinois and Indiana on March 18, 1925, and was rated an F5, the most powerful under old Fujita scale (winds of 260-plus mph). 
2. The "Natchez Tornado" killed 317 people and injured 109 on May 6, 1840, along the Mississippi River in Louisiana and Mississippi. The official death toll may not have included slaves, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. 
3. The "St. Louis Tornado" killed 255 people and injured 1,000 on May 27, 1896, in Missouri and Illinois. It had winds of between 207 mph and 260 mph. 
4. The "Tupelo Tornado" killed 216 people and injured 700 on April 5, 1936, in the northeastern Mississippi city. 
5. The "Gainesville Tornado" was a pair of storms that converged April 6, 1936, in Gainesville, Georgia, killing 203 people and injuring 1,600. The tornado destroyed four blocks and 750 houses in the northern Georgia town. 
6. The "Woodward Tornado" wreaked havoc across parts of Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas on April 9, 1947 killing 181 people and injuring 970. The funnel cloud reportedly was more than a mile wide in places. 
7. The tornado that struck Joplin, Missouri, on May 22, 2011, killed 158 people and injured more than 1,000. The storm packed winds in excess of 200 mph and was on the ground for more than 22 miles. 
8. The "Amite/Pine/Purvis Tornado" killed 143 people and injured 770 on April 24, 1908. The storm left only seven houses intact in Purvis, Mississippi, and also caused damage in Amite, Louisiana. 
9. The "New Richmond Tornado" killed 117 people and injured 200 on June 12, 1899, in New Richmond, Wisconsin. 
10. The "Flint Tornado" killed 115 people and injured 844 on June 8, 1953, in Flint, Michigan. The tornado was the deadliest twister ever recorded in the state. Photos: 10 deadliest U.S. tornadoes 
Tornado damage is extensive in the River Plantation neighborhood of Mayflower, Arkansas, on Sunday, April 27, 2014. 
Storm damage is seen near Mayflower, Arkansas, on April 27. 
A tornado touches down in Baxter Springs, Kansas, on April 27. 
A funnel cloud is seen near Baxter Springs, Kansas, on April 27. 
A funnel cloud is seen near Quapaw, Oklahoma on April 27. 
A hospital clinic had its roof blown off Sunday afternoon in Oskaloosa, Iowa, on April 27. Tornadoes, strike central U.S. 
'We heard stuff cracking and breaking' 
Funnel cloud spotted in Kansas? 
News chopper captures tornado touch down The nightmare is all too familiar for the community of about 3,800 people. Another storm ransacked the town almost three years ago to the day and followed essentially the same path, the mayor said.
"There's a few buildings partially standing, but the amount of damage is tremendous," Firestone said Sunday. "There's gas lines spewing. Of course, power lines down. Houses are just a pile of brick."
More misery
It was much the same in the neighboring Mayflower, a town of 1,600 about 20 miles to the southwest.
Authorities shut down a section of Interstate 40 after a tornado "as much as a half-mile wide" roared through the area, according to the National Weather Service.
The well-traveled roadway was littered with crushed and overturned trucks and cars.
CNN meteorologist Chad Myers, who was in Mayflower, estimated the winds from the storm at 130-150 mph.
Emergency workers tended to the scene throughout the night. Shelters were set up at the high school and at a local church.
The city's official website said schools would be closed on Monday.
Six deaths were reported in Faulkner County, where Mayflower and Vilonia are located, the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management said. The agency confirmed five additional deaths in Pulaski County and another death in White County.
More than 100 were treated at various hospitals in the state.
Impact Your World: How you can help
'Tell the public to stay away'
Before slamming into Arkansas, witnesses spotted a twister in the northeast Oklahoma town of Quapaw, where one person died, the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office said.
Joe Dan Morgan, the county's emergency manager, said rescuers were working in an area where a concrete wall crashed onto a car.
There were other reports of damage in the community, stretching thin local resources.
"Search and rescue is under way involving several agencies," county emergency dispatcher Kelly Flecks said. "Please tell the public to stay away so they can do their jobs. We can't confirm anything else at the moment."
Quapaw is located near the border with Kansas and Missouri.
The same line of storms hit Baxter Springs, Kansas, just a few miles to the north.
Sixty to 70 homes and at least 20 businesses were reported destroyed, said Cherokee County emergency manager Jason Allison.
A tornado estimated to be three blocks wide rumbled through the town of 4,200, he said.
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CNN's Devon Sayers and Chad Myers reported from Mayflower. CNN's Ed Payne reported and wrote from Atlanta. CNN's Dave Alsup, Matthew Stucker, Catherine E. Shoichet and Sean Morris contributed to this report
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