At least four dead and 11 injured in Missouri after tornados touch down Friday night
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
At least four people are dead and 11 others injured in Missouri after tornados touched down Friday.
In St. Charles County, a woman was killed at home and two others were hospitalized. In Pemiscot County, a young child was killed at home and at least nine people were transported to hospitals. Also, a semi-truck driver on I-55 and a motorist on Missouri Route 84 were killed in Pemiscot County. Those deaths remain under investigation by the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
The State Emergency Operations Center remains activated and state agencies continue to assist Missouri communities affected by a series of strong tornadoes and severe storms that swept through the state Friday night.
The storms killed at least two people and destroyed or did major damage to hundreds of homes and buildings.
“We are deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life caused by this powerful-sustained storm system, and we are praying for the family and friends of those we have lost,” Governor Parson said. “The deadly tornadoes that swept through Missouri and neighboring states are a reminder that strong storms can take lives when people are at home or at work. I am grateful that our state and local response agencies along with the National Weather Service communicated the threat these storms posed early and were prepared to respond last night. Our state team members stand ready to assist and will be working with local partners to assess the damage in the coming days.”
Through the overnight hours, the National Weather Service issued a total of 31 tornado warnings for Missouri. NWS assessment teams are in the field surveying storm damage and will determine EF tornado ratings.
Electric utility crews are continuing to work to restore power after outages peaked overnight with at least 30,000 customers without power. Outage figures have already been reduced to below 7,000 on Saturday.
The MSHP continues to assist local authorities in St. Charles County and southeast Missouri. Troopers have assisted with door-to-door searches and highway and road closures.
The Missouri Department of Transportation has assisted with clearing debris and reopening highways. State Emergency Management Agency regional coordinators have been working with local partners to assess resource needs and preliminary damage estimates and will continue to do so in the coming days.
