At least 21 people were killed in Kentucky and Missouri after storms and reported tornadoes tore through the region as part of an extreme weather outbreak on May 16, “leaving behind a trail of destruction,” authorities said.
The toll includes at least 14 dead in Kentucky, according to Gov. Andy Beshear, and seven in Missouri, authorities there said. The number killed is expected to increase, Beshear said.
“Our city is grieving tonight,” St. Louis, Missouri, Mayor Cara Spencer said in a May 16 news conference when she announced five people died in the city.
Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe is set to travel to St. Louis May 17 and hold a new conference with Spencer at 10:30 a.m. local time, his office said. He asked residents to avoid damaged areas so first responders can continue to clear debris and find people who need help.
The tornadoes came amid a severe weather outbreak with preliminary reports of tornadoes in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and even New Jersey.
The tornado in St. Louis downed trees and ripped entire walls off of homes, photos of the destruction showed.
St. Louis resident Joan Miller said she narrowly escaped when the tornado struck her brick house.
“The wind started, the tree out front was shaking so violently,” Miller said. “And suddenly all the doors shut, the windows flew out from the bedroom … the entire back of my house … you can see straight into the alley now.”
About 130 miles away in Scott County, Missouri, the sheriff’s office said two more were killed in a tornado that tore through rural areas there.
“The tornado moved from the eastern part of the county, leaving behind a trail of destruction, with multiple homes completely lost and areas left unrecognizable,” Sheriff Derick Wheetley said in a statement.
Tornadoes kill 14, injure more in Kentucky
Authorities in Kentucky expect the death toll of 14 to increase as they continue to search the ravaged areas. Nine of the dead were in Laurel County, where a tornado hit just before midnight on May 16, the sheriff’s office said. Many more were injured there.
Four were injured in Louisville when a tree collapsed “across the center” of a home. The injured included two adults and two children who were trapped in the house before being rescued, the fire department said, according to the Louisville Courier Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network.
The National Weather Service reported possible tornadoes in Pulaski and Laurel counties in southeastern Kentucky. According to a May 16 storm report, a trained spotter reported a tornado in Somerset, while “likely tornado damage” was shown at the London-Corbin Airport.
More than 45,000 Kentucky residents across LG&E and KU’s service area are without power as of the morning of May 17.
A relief station was set up at South Laurel High School gym, according to Laurel County Clerk Tony Brown. The station has supplies for victims of the tornado, as well as food for victims and first responders.
London Mayor Randall Weddle said people came out over night with chainsaws and other tools to help.
“It’s just been amazing to watch all the moving parts here in our city and our county,” Weddle said. “Right now, they’re still searching for people through all this debris.”
-Bailey Loosemore, Stephanie Kuzydym and Hannah Pinski, the Louisville Courier Journal
Post office destroyed after storms hit in Indiana
Tornadoes touched down in Bloomington, Greene County, Brown County and elsewhere across Indiana on May 16, according to the Herald-Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. Video on social media showed softball-sized hail in Greene County.
Ashley Byarlay was driving home at 7:30 p.m. when she watched a tornado form over a housing subdivision in Bloomington, Indiana.
“My dream job was to be a storm chaser,” she said, “so I got to live my dream job today.”
More: Trump cuts leave National Weather Service scrambling to cover vital shifts
She said she watched the tornado touch down near South Rogers and That Road and then lift up and travel farther east before dropping down again.
The Clear Creek Post Office was destroyed along with several other buildings. Transformers and power lines were lying in the street as people came out from their homes and drove by in cars to see the damage.
-Carol Kugler, The Herald-Times
50 million people affected by severe storms from Texas to New York over the weekend, forecasters say
Severe storms over the weekend are expected to stretch from Texas and Georgia up to New York, according to AccuWeather. Approximately 50 million people are at risk with tornadoes and thunderstorms over vast swaths of the country on May 17 and 18, the forecasting company reported.
Beginning the afternoon of May 17, AccuWeather reported a high risk of isolated tornadoes, large hail and flooding in the southern U.S., particularly in and around Dallas. On May 18, tornadoes, large hail and downpour are projected to hit parts of Kansas and Oklahoma.
In the Northeast, residents can expect flooding downpours and wind gusts upwards of 50 mph starting the evening of May 17.
Forecasters project severe weather continuing early next week in the central United States across the Plains and Mississippi Valley.
– Eduardo Cuevas
Power outages across several states after storms
Tens of thousands are without power on May 17 after storms hit across the central part of the United States the day before, according to USA TODAY’s power outage tracker.
There were about 90,000 Kentucky homes and businesses without power, slightly down from the more than 100,000 reported earlier in the morning by Beshear. Five counties had also reported states of emergencies.
In Missouri, 85,000 customers were in the dark. Of those, nearly 40,000 were in St. Louis where a deadly tornado caused destruction.
Another large cluster of power outages was impacting customers in Michigan, after severe storms on the nights of May 15 and 16. Nearly 150,000 homes and businesses there were without power. There were early reports of five tornadoes, hail and high winds across Michigan on May 15, according to the Lansing State Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network.
Contributing: Reuters
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tornado outbreak kills several in Kentucky, Missouri: live updates
