A massively destructive tornado resulted in the deaths of five people as it ravaged its way through areas of Southeastern Missouri this past Wednesday.
A roughly 3:30 a.m. CST, a massive tornado touched down and ripped its way through an area of Bollinger County, about 50 miles to the south of the city of St. Louis, inflicting widespread damage and killing numerous people, Sgt. Clark Parrott of the Missouri State Highway Patrol explained to the Associated Press.
“The damage is pretty widespread,” stated Parrott. “It’s just heartbreaking to see it.”
#tornado #damage from #glenallen #missouri #MoWx #drone pic.twitter.com/0DnGl277Yq
— WxChasing- Brandon Clement (@bclemms) April 5, 2023
Parrot explained that authorities have not yet officially reported the total number of casualties.
“This is an active search and rescue event,” he stated, going on add that crews have been cleaning out brush and trees with chainsaws in order to get to damaged or buried homes.
Larry Welker, the public administrator of Bollinger County, explained to the Associated Press that the tornado blew down Route 34 into Glen Allen, where law enforcement has chosen to restrict access to the small village of roughly 100 people.
“I’m getting reports that it was pretty bad,” Welker stated. “There [were] several trailers there, and I understand that there [are] still people missing.”
#tornado #damage in #Glenallen #MO looks to be a large damage path. Just getting first look, more to come. pic.twitter.com/pgrVLziiDn
— WxChasing- Brandon Clement (@bclemms) April 5, 2023
One meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Paducah, Kentucky, Justin Gibbs, stated to CBS that the tornado was able to travel for 15-20 miles at a speed of over 90 MPH.
Survey teams sent out by the weather service will assess the overall damage and then report the strength of the tornado, he went on.
The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center explained to CBS that close to 30 million people across numerous areas of both Michigan to Tennessee were at risk for storms on Wednesday, a risk which included metropolitan areas like Chicago, Indianapolis, Detroit, and Memphis.
Quite a few deadly tornadoes and powerful storms ravaged the South and Midwest this pat weekend in the early morning hours of Saturday, including one that ended up breaking down the roof of one Illinois concert hall where hundreds were gathered for a performance.
Close to 33 people have been killed and dozens more injured as a result of violent weather, which saw close to twenty-four tornadoes rip through parts of Illinois, Iowa, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and Mississippi.
