32 dead as tornado toll mounts
Swarms of violent thunderstorms and tornados crashed through the US Midwest, killing at least 32 people in the states of Kansas, Missouri and Tennessee.
Eight people in the hard-hit town of Pierce City, Missouri remained missing today.
Houses across the region were blown apart by Sunday’s storms, trees were uprooted and power lines and other debris blocked roads. Travellers were evacuated from the terminals at Kansas City’s main airport and given shelter in tunnels.
In Pierce City, not a home or business was left untouched in the town of nearly 1,400, and wreckage made it impossible to walk the streets.
Two bodies had been pulled from the rubble of the town’s nearly levelled National Guard Armoury, where some residents had taken shelter. Authorities were searching for eight missing residents.
“I’ve never been in anything like this. It was absolutely terrible,” said Pierce City clerk Julie Johnson, who rode out the storm in the armoury bathroom.
The storms were blamed for at least 14 deaths in Missouri, seven in Kansas and 11 in Tennessee. One tornado carved a 65 mile path across West Tennessee, said meteorologist Gene Renchs.
They were part of a huge weather system that rolled across the Midwest and parts of the South, and also spawned twisters in Arkansas, South Dakota and Nebraska. Damage in Arkansas included wrecked homes and businesses, power outages and overturned trucks. Hail as big as baseballs hammered parts of South Dakota.
By midmorning, thunderstorms were racing eastward through the Ohio and Tennessee valleys.
In Tennessee, a state of emergency was declared in Madison County, including the hard-hit city of Jackson.
Eleven bodies had been taken to Jackson-Madison County General Hospital, said spokeswoman Jan Boud. Much of Jackson had no power today and the hospital was operating off a generator, Boud said.
“It’s like downtown Baghdad,” lawyer Joe Byrd said of the damage in Jackson.
Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius declared seven counties disaster areas. Several homes were severely damaged in Kansas City, the state’s main city.
“My daughter’s room is gone, but she’s OK,” resident Jodee Nirschl said, her voice breaking and tears coming to her eyes. “As long as I have my kids and my husband, I’ll be OK.”
In the south-east Kansas town of Franklin, about a third of the town was wiped out, said Eldon Bedene, Crawford County emergency management director.
“The trees are like somebody came in and cut them off 10 feet above the ground. It’s a mess,” he said.
Missouri Governor Bob Holden toured Northmoor, a small town where 25 to 30 homes were damaged or destroyed. The town hall and police station also were damaged.
“I had to hold on with all my strength,” said resident Charles Tholl, who was with his girlfriend and five children when the storm hit. “It was scary. It felt like the house was twirling.”
