(Reuters) – At least 16 people were killed when severe weather, including possible tornadoes, swept through parts of Missouri and Kentucky from Friday into Saturday morning, NBC News reported on Saturday.
A tornado ripped through St. Louis, Missouri, on Friday, 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, officials said.
Five people were killed in St. Louis, and two others in Scott County, in southeastern Missouri, according to officials, the NBC report said.
“Our city is grieving tonight,” St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer, who was sworn in a month ago, told reporters. “The loss of life and the destruction is truly, truly horrendous.”
A spokesperson for both St. Louis Children’s Hospital and Barnes-Jewish Hospital told NBC news that at least 35 injured people had been admitted to the facilities, with the children’s facility receiving 15 and Barnes-Jewish taking in at least 20, possibly 30 who were injured as a result of the severe weather.
The city imposed a curfew from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. 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 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 neighboring Illinois and other severe weather stretching all the way to the Atlantic Coast, including another tornado in New Jersey.
(Reporting by Daniel Trotta, Steve Gorman and Harshita Meenaktshi; Editing by William Mallard and Susan Fenton)
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