Tornado outbreak ravages Missouri, killing 3; widespread damage reported in Jefferson City
Chairs lie in the road and metal from a gas station roof is twisted around a downed power line in Jefferson City. (David A. Lieb/AP)
At least 20 people were hurt when a tornado ripped through Missouri’s capital city late Wednesday, as part of a violent storm system that hammered different parts of the state — causing widespread damage in Jefferson City and killing three people more than 170 miles away, in tiny Golden City.
“We were very fortunate last night that we didn’t have more injuries than what we had, and that we didn’t have more fatalities across the state,” Gov. Mike Parson said at an early-morning news conference Thursday.
The National Weather Service confirmed that it received word of damage in Jefferson City from the “Wedge Tornado” — wider in its funnel than it is tall — at 11:47 p.m. local time, urging residents to “shelter now!” The tornado moved at 40 mph through the city in central Missouri and shot debris about 13,000 feet into the air.
Jefferson City Police Lt. David Williams said that a three-square-mile area received the brunt of the damage from the storm and that authorities would be going door to door as the sun rose to ensure residents were safe.
“At this point, it’s too early to tell how large the scale of damage will be,” Williams said just hours after the tornado struck. “It’s a chaotic situation right now. We are trying to identify the people that need our help the most.”
He said police had received calls from people saying they were trapped in their homes; by daybreak, those people had been rescued, officials said.
“It sounds as if the injuries have been few, which is truly amazing considering the extent of the damage,” Jefferson City Mayor Carrie Tergin told CNN. Residents seemed to have heeded the warning sirens, Tergin said, which may have prevented mass casualties.
Chairs lie in the road and metal from a gas station roof is twisted around a downed power line in Jefferson City. (David A. Lieb/AP)
Thousands in the area were without power Thursday morning, authorities said, and police said utilities in damaged homes and businesses would “present a hazard as power is restored.” Police warned residents to resist the urge to begin cleanup before authorities had been able to assess the structural integrity of their homes and business
A separate tornado in the southwestern part of the state touched down in the small town of Golden City, about 45 miles from Joplin, officials said, killing three people. The Missouri State Highway Patrol identified the victims as Kenneth Harris, 86, Opal Harris, 83, and 56-year-old Betty Berg.
Berg’s husband, 56-year-old Mark Berg, also suffered serious injuries in the storm, reported Ozarks First.
The tornadoes across the state came on the eighth anniversary of a tornado that killed 161 people in Joplin.
Emergency services identified the tornado sirens in Jefferson City around 11:10 p.m., with the tornado’s first rotation happening 20 minutes later, Williams said.
“When it hit . . . it felt like an earthquake,” resident Cindy Sandoval-Jakobsen told CNN.
The Jefferson City Fire Department said that all of its firefighters are on duty and are continuing rescue operations.
“Please Pray for our Citizens,” the department said in a Facebook post.
Tornado and thunderstorm warnings were extended into early Thursday.
“We’re doing okay but praying for those that were caught in damage, some are still trapped,” the governor tweeted, adding that local emergency crews were on site and assisting.
Parson later said that there was “damage to state buildings” and asked nonessential state employees in the city to stay at home. The state Capitol building and governor’s mansion appear to have escaped unscathed.
The destruction in Jefferson City is the latest in a week of severe storms across the central United States. More than 60 tornado reports and nearly 400 river gauges in the region had exceeded flood stage as of Wednesday, resulting in several deaths and inundated communities, The Washington Post’s Jason Samenow reported.
KOMU reported that Matt Lindewirth, chief of Cole County EMS, said Jefferson City’s hospitals had entered “disaster mode,” with staff scrambling back to address the injuries.
On the Jefferson City Fire Department’s scanner, there were reports of multiple people trapped in apartments. There were also reports of blocked roads, gas leaks and “extensive tree and structural damage.” Officials have reached out to the National Guard for additional operators and heavy equipment, according to the Kansas City Star. The newspaper reported there was also “a possible amputation” among those injured.
Kayleigh De Rosa, a resident at the Hawthorne Apartments complex in Jefferson City, shared a cellphone video with KRCG that showed how her home had been blown out by the tornado, leaving her family homeless.
The family’s balcony was now on her mother’s car and her next-door neighbor’s home was equally dismantled by the sheer force of the natural disaster. Missouri Task Force 1, an urban search-and-rescue team dispatched by FEMA to help with recovery efforts, was searching for victims at the complex early Thursday.
“As you can see over here, my bedroom window and everything is completely blown through, bricks everywhere,” she said. “It’s bad, guys.”
On social media, residents and concerned citizens shared photos and videos of the tornado and the damage it left in its wake.
A video captured by one resident featured a pitch-black Missouri sky and a howling siren. Only in the scattered lightning could people see the wide tornado making its way from nearby Eldon, Mo., toward Jefferson City.
“Holy crap, I see it,” remarked one onlooker.
When reached by The Washington Post early Thursday, an official with the Jefferson City Police Department hung up, saying she had no time to provide comment during the emergency situation.
“I’m going to have to let you go,” she said. “We’re handling life and death.
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