‘Damage is widespread’: Tornado kills four people in Missouri
Four people have been killed by a tornado in Missouri, state police have said.
The deaths were reported in Bollinger County, about 50 miles south of St Louis, according to officials.
A search and rescue operation has been launched following Wednesday morning’s storm, with crews having to use chainsaws to cut back trees and bushes to reach homes and buildings.
Sergeant Clark Parrott of the Missouri State Highway Patrol said the storm had caused “multiple injuries and multiple deaths”, adding: “The damage is pretty widespread. It’s just heartbreaking to see it.”
Teams of rescuers have been combing through damaged and destroyed homes and businesses across southeastern Missouri.
In Glen Allen, a village of slightly more than 100 people, an official said there may still be people missing.
“I’m getting reports that it was pretty bad,” said Larry Welker, Bollinger County’s public administrator, adding there were “several trailers” in the village.
The tornado touched down in Missouri at about 3.30am local time, according to the National Weather Service.
It was one of more than a dozen that were spotted in the Midwest overnight, the service added.
The Storm Prediction Center said up to 40 million people in an area that includes major cities such as Chicago, Indianapolis, Detroit, and Memphis in Tennessee were at risk from the storms later on Wednesday.
The tornado was spawned from a storm system sweeping across the Midwest and South.
Justin Gibbs, a National Weather Service meteorologist, said the tornado remained on the ground for roughly 15 minutes, travelling an estimated 15 to 20 miles.
A weather service team was on its way to Bollinger County to gather details about the tornado.
Mr Gibbs said it was clear “it was a significant tornado”.
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He said tornadoes are especially dangerous when they touch down late at night or early in the morning.
“It’s definitely a nightmare from a warning standpoint,” he said.
“It’s bad anytime, but it’s especially bad at 3.30 in the morning.”
The storms come just days after a series of US tornados killed at least 32 people when they tore through parts of the South and Midwest, and as far east as Delaware.
Many homes and buildings were destroyed in Arkansas, Iowa and Illinois.
