More than 100 killed in U.S. tornadoes
Posted May 23, 2011 12:15 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Less than a month after deadly tornadoes destroyed parts of the southern states, dozens more cut through the U.S. Midwest, killing 116 people in Missouri alone.
Thunderstorms were hampering rescuers in the hardest-hit city of Joplin, Mo., Monday morning, and authorities later confirmed 116 people had died.
At least one other person was killed on Sunday in Minneapolis, and another in Kansas on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center.
The Joplin tornado – 10 kilometres long and more than 800 metres wide – damaged about 2,000 buildings, including a hospital and shopping area, and brought down power lines and triggered gas leaks.
Gov. Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency, and President Barack Obama ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency to work with state and local agencies.
Fire chief Mitch Randles estimated damage to 25 to 30 per cent of the small municipality, about 260 kilometres south of Kansas City.
More than 300 people died when tornadoes tore through the South last month.
With files from the Associated Press
