Jefferson city tornado – Three dead and mass casualties feared as monster twisters cause ‘catastrophic damage’ in Missouri cities
THREE people have died and mass casualties are feared after a monster twister caused “catastrophic damage” in Missouri.
Safety chiefs have issued more tornado warnings after power lines were pulled down and houses were destroyed overnight – while the state is on high alert for further twisters as more extreme weather is expected, including tennis ball-sized hail and flash flooding.
The Missouri Department of Public Safety said: “Law enforcement can confirm three fatalities in the Golden City area of Barton County and several injuries in the Carl Junction area of Jasper County.”
The deaths were reported late last night, said The Kansas City Star.
They occurred after the National Weather Service (NWS) received several reports of tornadoes ripping through Kansas and southwest Missouri, including one “confirmed large and extremely dangerous tornado”.
The twister, described as a “wedge tornado” – with a funnel wider than its height – tore through the town centre, shoving debris 13,000 feet into the air, before sweeping northeast at 40mph.
Rosemond Crown, anchor at KOMU News, reporting from outside A&E at the Capital Region Hospital in Jefferson, where people hurt from the storm are being brought in, said: “Hospital staff say ambulances have been in and out all morning.
“They expect that nearly 100 people are injured.”
The mayor issued a mandatory evacuation for an area involving a handful of homes, and the city’s airport has also been evacuated.
Gov. Mike Parson said on Twitter: “Major tornados [sic] across state tonight, including Jeff City. We’re doing okay but praying for those that were caught in damage, some are still trapped – local emergency crews are on site and assisting.”
‘Storm chaser’ Matt Magiera tweeted that it “sounds like major damage with injuries at Hawthorne apartments with people trapped.
“Firefighters unable to reach due to collapse at YMCA blocking the road.”
Another storm chaser, Aaron, said that National Guard aid had been requested in response to the number of people reported trapped in Jefferson City.
Missouri resident Tim Miller, who lives 150 miles from the capital, south of Kansas City, responded to him, tweeting: “I thought a tornado was going to form here. The sky was green. That’s usually a bad sign.”
EVACUATION ORDERS
Storms and torrential rains have ravaged the Midwest, from Texas through to Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and Illinois.
Authorities urged residents of several small towns in Oklahoma and Kansas to leave their homes as rivers and streams rose.
The NWS said it had received 22 reports of tornadoes by late Wednesday evening.
One tornado skirted just a few miles north of Joplin, Missouri, on the eighth anniversary of a catastrophic tornado that killed 161 people in the city.
The tornado caused damage in the town of Carl Junction, about four miles (6.44km) north of the Joplin airport.
MORE SEVERE WEATHER PREDICTED
The Arkansas River was approaching historic highs, while the already high Missouri and Mississippi Rivers were again rising after a multi-day stretch of storms that produced dozens of tornadoes.
Forecasters predicted parts of Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas could see more severe weather Wednesday night into Thursday.
Axios said that there have been at least 60 tornado reports “since Tuesday alone”.
It adds that the risk of twisters, flash flooding and severe thunderstorms will continue into Thursday.
Areas from Oklahoma City, northeast to central Illinois were put on tornado alert as a result of the life-threatening severe weather, Axios said.
In Kansas, residents in parts of the city of Iola, along the Neosho River, were being urged to evacuate and officials had set up on emergency shelter at a community college, said Corey Schinstock, assistant city administrator.
Fox News says that safety officials in Missouri reported extensive damage near Highway 54 and warned of fallen power lines.
Authorities warned people that all downed lines should be considered live.
CNN reported that the tornado had caught “sleeping residents off guard late Wednesday night”.
More to follow
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