Multiple tornadoes struck northeastern Arkansas late Friday, according to reports from the National Weather Service.

A monster storm system carrying a high risk tornado threat is barreling through the Southeast after unleashing deadly tornadoes, fierce winds and devastating damage across the Plains and Midwest.

Violent tornadoes ripped through parts of the U.S., wiping out schools and toppling semitractor-trailers in several states, part of a monster storm that has killed at least 32 people as more severe weather was expected late Saturday.

At least 12 fatalities have been reported in Missouri, according to the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency. The deaths come as a massive storm system moving across the country unleashed winds that damaged buildings, whipped up deadly dust storms and fanned more than 100 wildfires.

Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said he takes full responsibility for his administration's "war on drugs", in a video message posted on his Facebook account, as he braces for a legal battle at the International Criminal Court.