A view of the wreckage of the Shipley family trailer home where 5 family members died after a volatile storm system tore through the South and Midwest on Tuesday and Wednesday, in Glenallen, Missouri, US April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Cheney Orr
Five people were killed in a predawn tornado that ripped through southeastern Missouri on Wednesday, shearing off roofs, splintering trees and taking down power lines in devastated Bollinger County, officials said.
First responders from multiple agencies combed through destroyed homes and businesses in the rural area that Missouri Governor Mike Parson said faces 鈥渁 long journey ahead鈥� toward recovery.
Five people were also injured and 87 structures damaged with 12 of those buildings destroyed, said Eric Olson, superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
Photographs on social media from Glen Allen, Missouri 鈥� a village about 110 miles (177 km) south of St. Louis 鈥� showed severely damaged houses with roofs torn off, downed trees and power lines and debris covering roadways and yards.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just heartbreaking to see people鈥檚 homes missing roofs and their homes gone,鈥� Missouri State Patrol Highway Sergeant Clark Parrott told Reuters said after surveying the damage. 鈥淲e got work ahead of us, but we will get through this.鈥�
Storm spotters reported the tornado touched down in the area about 3:30 a.m. local time (0830 GMT), according to the National Weather Service, one of more than a dozen twisters seen in the Midwest overnight.
In Marble Hill, three miles (5 km) to the east of Glen Allen, Chris Huffman, 45, said he raced to his basement with his wife and two daughters after hearing tornado sirens and the power went out.
Outside was pitch black and there were dark clouds, high winds and rain, and bursts of lightning, Huffman said.
鈥淚t was startling,鈥� he told Reuters in a phone interview from his sandwich shop, Munchies, where he was preparing food for crews and those in need. 鈥淲e heard the roar of everything. That鈥檚 how close it was.鈥�
Parson said the state would aid people who lost their homes even though some sparsely populated communities would not have sustained enough damage to be eligible for public disaster relief.
鈥淭his is going to be weeks upon months to be able to recover,鈥� Parson said, adding that President Joe Biden called to offer help and services.
The twister struck days after violent tornadoes tore through parts of the South and Midwest, killing at least 32 people.
A week before, a tornado devastated the Mississippi Delta town of Rolling Fork, killing 26 people.