23 May 2011

Tornado kills 89 in Missouri

At least 89 people have been killed by a tornado which ripped through the Missouri town of Joplin in the United States. One resident tells Channel 4 News of the terrifying moment the storm struck.

Search teams in Joplin have discovered 89 bodies from the rubble of a tornado that obliterated parts of the town on Sunday in one of the deadliest tornadoes in the state’s history.

Governor Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency and ordered Missouri National Guard troops deployed to help state troopers and other agencies respond to storms which he said “have caused extensive damage across Missouri.”

Joplin City Council’s Melodee Colbert-Kean, who serves as Vice-Mayor, said the town was in a state of “chaos” after the tornado – which has been rated just one level below the biggest.

The loss of life is incredible. We’re still trying to find people. The outlook is pretty bleak. Joplin Mayor, Mike Woolston.

“It is just utter devastation anywhere you look to the south and the east – businesses, apartment complexes, houses, cars, trees, schools, you name it, it is levelled, levelled,” she said.

There are also fears that the numbers of those killed could rise as rescue workers sift through the rubble.

Bleak outlook

Joplin Mayor Mike Woolston said: “The loss of life is incredible. We’re still trying to find people. The outlook is pretty bleak.”

Ryan Larson, a 27-year old community support specialist who lives in Joplin, told Channel 4 News the storm escalated quickly – and no-one saw it coming.

He said: “The tornado was rain-wrapped meaning you could not see it. It plowed from west to east doing damage throughout one end of town to the other.”

He said he and his young family were napping when the sirens went off.

The tornado was rain-wrapped meaning you could not see it…things started getting bad quickly. Ryan Larson, Joplin resident

“Aubree and I and Finley were napping when Finley woke up. Aubree went to get him and that’s when the sirens went off. Things started getting bad quickly. We went to our first floor bathroom. As we were going, windows started breaking and we could not even see the neighbors house because of the rain.

“We got to the bathroom and the pressure shifted and windows continued breaking. The house was shaking, and it was so loud outside. After things settled down everyone was outside looking at the damage. That’s when we realized the tornado was only a block away from us. We also had baseball sized hail.”

Surveying the damage in Joplin, Missouri, (Reuters)

Keith Stammer, emergency management director for Jasper County, estimated that about 10 per cent of the city – about 2,000 buildings – bore the brunt of the storm, based on initial aerial surveillance showing that the tornado had cut a swathe about six miles long and a half to three-quarters of a mile wide through town.

Tammy Spicer. a Missouri National Guard major, said more than 100 members of the 35th Engineer Brigade, which has a battalion based in Joplin, were expected immediately to report for duty to aid in search and rescue efforts, clear roads, provide security and help with radio communications.

The storm followed an earlier burst of violent spring weather in the United States that claimed over 330 lives as tornadoes swept seven states last month. That included 238 deaths in Alabama alone on 27 April as twisters battered Tuscaloosa and other towns.

Read More: What causes tornadoes?

President Barack Obama issued a statement expressing his “deepest condolences” to families of the Missouri victims. He said he had directed the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to support response and recovery efforts.

A White House official said Obama was briefed multiple times about the tornadoes on the Air Force One flight to Ireland and asked his staff to stay in close touch with state and local authorities.

A similar clean-up operation in north east Kansas has also begun after another tornado killed one person and damaged 200 buildings.

A state of emergency had been declared for 16 counties, state officials said.