At least 21 people were killed overnight in Kentucky and Missouri when severe storms that spawned tornadoes ripped across the two states, officials said on Saturday, and the death toll is expected to rise.
In Kentucky, Gov. Andy Beshear said early on Saturday at least 14 people were killed in his state.
“Kentucky, we’re starting today with the tough news that we lost at least 14 of our people to last night’s storms, but sadly, this number is expected to grow as we receive more information,” Beshear said Saturday in a post on social media platform X.
At least nine of the fatalities were in Laurel County, about 240 kilometres south of Louisville, when a tornado touched down just before midnight on Saturday, Sheriff John Root said in a social media post, describing it as “a mass casualty event.”
There were numerous severe injuries, he said, and a search for survivors was underway.
Aerial images posted on social media showed scenes of complete destruction in Laurel County, with entire blocks of houses reduced to splinters, and cars and pickup trucks left battered or crushed in the tornado’s wake.
In Union County, near the Illinois border 400 kilometres west of Laurel County, a reported twister levelled mobile homes in the city of Morganfield, according to broadcaster WLKY in Louisville, but there were no immediate reports of casualties in that area.
Earlier, officials said a tornado ripped through the Missouri city of St. Louis, killing at least five people and damaging 5,000 properties as it tore off roofs. It also knocked down power lines and swept through a major thoroughfare during rush-hour traffic on Friday, officials said.
Five people were killed in St. Louis, and two others in Scott County, in southeastern Missouri, according to officials.
“Our city is grieving tonight,” St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer, who was sworn in a month ago, told reporters on Friday night.
“The loss of life and the destruction is truly, truly horrendous.”
St. Louis resident Joan Miller recounted her narrow escape when a tornado struck her brick house.
“The wind started, the tree out front was shaking so violently,” she said. “And suddenly all the doors shut, the windows flew out from the bedroom … the entire back of my house … you can see straight into the alley now.”
A spokesperson for both St. Louis Children’s Hospital and Barnes-Jewish Hospital told NBC news that at least 35 people had been admitted to the facilities, with the children’s facility receiving 15 and Barnes-Jewish taking in at least 20 — possibly 30 — people who were injured as a result of the severe weather.
The city imposed a curfew from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. local time in two police districts where most of the damage took place, to prevent injuries from dangerous debris and reduce the potential for looting.
At the time of the deadly twister, a hazardous weather advisory was in effect for eastern Missouri, including the St. Louis area, warning of severe thunderstorms through early Friday evening, and a tornado watch was posted for areas immediately to the southeast.
The National Weather Service said thunderstorms were widespread across portions of the Mississippi, Tennessee and Ohio valleys on Friday, along with the potential for heavy rains and flash flooding.
About 500 first responders, including 17 search teams, were deployed, and early indications suggested the number of injured was relatively small considering the overall damage, fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson said.
The National Weather Service reported at least half a dozen tornadoes touching down in Missouri and neighbouring Illinois, and other severe weather stretching all the way to the Atlantic coast, including another tornado in New Jersey.
