At least 21 people were killed and dozens injured when storms and tornadoes swept through parts of Missouri and Kentucky, authorities said. Officials in Kentucky said there had been 14 deaths due to severe weather, while seven people were killed in Missouri, including five in the city of St Louis.
Fourteen were dead in Kentucky, Governor Andy Beshear said on X Saturday morning. “Sadly, this number is expected to grow as we receive more information,” he added.
Laurel County, Kentucky, Sheriff John Root said a tornado touched down late Friday night, and several cases of severe injuries were reported while the search was on for survivors.
In Missouri, five were killed in St. Louis County and two others in Scott County, according to officials.
Missouri officials said 5,000 buildings were damaged, roofs destroyed, and power lines knocked down as a tornado struck on Friday.
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About 100,000 properties in St. Louis were without power, and the fire department conducted house-by-house searches in the worst-affected areas.
A curfew was imposed from 21:00 to 06:00 local time in the two areas where most of the damage took place, to prevent injuries from debris and reduce the potential for looting.
St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer said, “The loss of life and the destruction is truly, truly horrendous. We’re going to have a lot of work to do in the coming days.”
The US National Weather Service said tornadoes also hit neighbouring Illinois, with more severe weather conditions stretching eastward to the Atlantic coast.
St. Louis Children’s Hospital and Barnes-Jewish Hospital received at least 35 patients in total, with the children’s facility getting 15 and Barnes-Jewish at least 20.
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Mayor Cara Spencer announced before the media that the number of fatalities has risen from four to five. She had said earlier that two of the dead were killed in North City, where a vortex was reported.
A man was rescued from the rubble of a residence most likely smashed by a tornado or winds in the area.
“Considering the building collapsed on him, he’s doing great,” a fire official said after the man was pulled out.
Utility Spire Energy, which serves 1.7 million customers in the region, said there is “severe damage” to homes. Video of the damage showed toppled brick walls and downed tree limbs and power lines in the region.
In Scott County, Sheriff Derick Wheetley said in a post that two people died in a “devastating tornado” there.
“The tornado moved from the eastern part of the county, leaving behind a trail of destruction, with multiple homes completely lost and areas left unrecognizable,” he said.
Kentucky had more than 99,000 customers in the dark, according to utility tracker PowerOutage.us, with a further 84,000 across Missouri.
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The vortexes were products of a fast-moving low pressure system headed east-northeast from its location over parts of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Missouri, a region under tornado watch until 10 p.m.
The cool, winter-like storm is clashing with a heat wave to the southwest, producing unstable air and eruptions of thunderstorm activity.
A Beyoncé concert at Chicago’s open-air Soldier Field on Thursday was also delayed because of the weather.