At least three dead as violent storms lash Missouri
By Peter Baugh, Timothy Bella and Katie Mettler | Washington Post
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Twelve hours after violent tornadoes ripped through the state of Missouri, authorities in the Jefferson City area were still sifting through debris and sweeping the most devastated residential areas searching for people to help.
About two dozen people were hurt when the “Wedge Tornado” – wider in its funnel than it is tall – ripped through Missouri’s capital as part of a 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.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol identified the victims as Kenneth Harris, 86; Opal Harris, 83; and Betty Berg, 56. Berg’s husband, 56-year-old Mark Berg, also suffered serious injuries in the storm, Ozarks First reported.
The tornadoes also caused damage in Carl Junction and raged near Joplin, where a different deadly tornado killed 161 people eight years ago.
“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 on Thursday.
President Donald Trump tweeted Thursday afternoon that Missouri residents are “strong and resilient.”
“We are here to assist,” he said.
Before midnight, the National Weather Service urged Jefferson City residents to “shelter now!” as the tornado moved at 40 mph through the central Missouri region and shot debris about 13,000 feet into the air.
Melvin Eldridge of Jefferson City woke to leaves hitting his face. The tornado had blown out part of his air conditioner, opening his first-story apartment to gusts of wind.
“It sounded like a train was coming,” Eldridge later recalled.
He hid in his bathtub, waiting for the storm to pass.
Nearby, Steve James got his two sons downstairs just in time. As he walked down the steps, his house started shaking. Inside, James and his family hid in the bathroom. Outside the wind blew a door frame onto his stairs. His front windows shattered. The metal railing leading to the front porch broke from the gusts.
“How can 15, 20 seconds cause this?” he said Thursday afternoon while sitting in front of his damaged house.
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 had spent the 12 hours since the tornadoes passed going door to door 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. Authorities triumphantly announced at a midday news conference that injuries in Jefferson City had been minimal, that there were no fatalities and no reports of missing people.
“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.
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 businesses.
Ameren Missouri President Michael Moehn said at the midday news conference that about 2,000 people were without electricity in Jefferson City and another 2,300 were powerless in Eldon, about 30 miles southwest of the capital.
The power grid had sustained “significant infrastructure damage,” Moehn said.
Close to 200 electrical poles were broken, downed or damaged, and about 250 utility workers from around the state had been mobilized to central Missouri. Gas had also been cut to “a number” of houses, Moehn said.
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. One resident said the point of impact felt like “an earthquake.”
“It’s devastation right now,” Jerri Bowles, who lives in the state capital, said Thursday. “Jefferson City hasn’t had a tornado in many, many, many years, and we all had this false sense of security that tornadoes just don’t happen here. So last night we had our eyes opened.”
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.
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 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, Missouri, 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.”
Bella and Mettler reported from Washington.