Missouri tornado kills multiple people, sows destruction

A tornado that tore through southeastern Missouri on April 5 caused widespread destruction and killed and injured multiple people, authorities said.

A tornado that tore through southeastern Missouri on April 5 caused widespread destruction and killed and injured multiple people, authorities said.

The tornado moved through a rural area of Bollinger County, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of St. Louis, between 3:30 and 4 a.m., said Sgt. Clark Parrott of the Missouri State Highway Patrol. He said it caused “multiple injuries and multiple deaths," but he didn't say how many or precisely where they occurred.

“The damage is pretty widespread. It’s just heartbreaking to see it,” Parrott said.

He said said a search and rescue operation is underway that involves multiple agencies. Crews are having to use chainsaws to cutback trees and brush to reach homes.

Severe thunderstorms packed the threat of more hail and tornadoes were forecast across parts of the Midwest and South.

The storms threatened a region that includes portions of the country still reeling from deadly weekend weather. The Storm Prediction Center said up to 40 million people from Chicago, Indianapolis, Detroit to Memphis, Tennessee, were at risk for storms later Wednesday, with the greatest threat from lower Michigan, across the middle to lower Ohio River valley and into the mid-South.

Storms were moving on Wednesday morning across the Ozarks in northern Arkansas and southern Missouri, prompting tornado warnings. The National Weather Service said a tornado struck in Bollinger County in southeastern Missouri on Wednesday morning, causing an unknown number of injuries.