At least 30 people were killed by a powerful tornado that ripped through the southwestern Missouri town of Joplin, a local coroner told Reuters.
“We are recovering the dead,” Joplin police Sergeant Bob Higginbotham said hours after the powerful twister struck Sunday afternoon, leaving much of the town of 50,000 residents in ruins and plunging the city into darkness once night fell.
Higginbotham was busy collecting the names of people reported missing. “(It’s) devastating loss of life, horrible, and it goes on for miles,” he said.
St. John Regional Medical Center after the hit.
Newton County Coroner Mark Bridges put Joplin’s death toll at 30 or more, on par with the loss of life from a twister that struck Tuscaloosa, Alabama, last month. More than 30 died in that storm.
“We know we are up into the 30 range,” Bridges told Reuters, adding that 11 bodies were recovered from one location alone and that the known casualty count would likely climb. “People are just telling us where they have seen bodies and adding them up in their heads.”
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 he said “have caused extensive damage across Missouri.”
Source: Reuters
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Over 30 killed as Tornado hits US