Central US tornadoes kill at least 27

KANSAS CITY, Mo: Killer tornadoes took more than 20 lives and injured dozens of others in a trail of destruction across parts of the central United States, local officials and media reported yesterday.

“It’s devastating,” said Michael Spencer, a Red Cross worker in Pierce City, Missouri. Commercial buildings around the town square were hard hit and “there are homes behind them that are just flattened,” he said. Rescue workers climbed around the ruins of a National Guard armory in Pierce City where some residents had fled seeking shelter. The roof of the building had collapsed. Police in Pierce City said there was one confirmed fatality. In Lawrence County, where the town is located, there were between six and 12 deaths, the sheriff’s office said. “It looked like a big wall. There was nothing but trash” being sucked up in a massive black cloud, Kansas City area resident Ed Miller told the Kansas City Star. His home escaped with minor damage but his bedroom was filled with broken glass.

Southern Missouri appeared to be the hardest hit, but fatalities were also reported in Kansas and at least one person died in Tennessee. Rescue workers dug through debris through the night searching for victims, dead and alive. Officials in both Kansas and Missouri declared states of emergency. The Red Cross said information on shelters where some of the victims may have gone could be obtained by calling 1-866-GETINFO. The government’s National Storm Prediction Centre said it has received 82 tornado sighting reports, some of them probably duplicates, since early Sunday morning. The Kansas City area was battered by a series of violent storms including some tornadoes on Sunday. The Star said in its online edition that there were 21 deaths in Missouri and Kansas.

Local broadcast reports placed the death toll at nearly 30 but that could not be confirmed. The Missouri Emergency Management Agency listed six confirmed deaths with damage across 16 counties in that state. The storm centre said there was one confirmed death in Tennessee from a tornado as well as damage from storms in Arkansas. In Kansas City, Missouri, where four tornadoes were reported, dozens of homes and businesses were damaged or demolished. Officials said live television coverage of the approaching storms may have helped save lives, alerting residents to head for basements or other shelters. One 81-year-old man died when he was hit by flying debris, said Don Denney, a spokesman for Wyandotte County, Kansas. “I’ve lived in this community for 51 years and this is as bad as I’ve seen,” said Denney. “We’ve had widespread damage, numerous homes levelled, numerous homes significantly damaged.” In neighbouring Leavenworth County, Kansas, nine homes were destroyed and 30 more damaged, officials said. On the Missouri side of the state line, Kansas City spokeswoman Mary Charles said at least 100 to 115 homes had been damaged with 10 to 15 destroyed.