JEFFERSON CITY - A relentless barrage
of violent weather in the central United States left three
people dead on Thursday, local media said, as tornadoes raked
across southwest Missouri and devastated the state capital, and
heavy rain flooded rivers in Oklahoma.
The reported casualties from the tornadoes, which struck
Missouri in the middle of the night, brought the week's
weather-related death toll in the region to at least seven, as
forecasters said the rain and threat of damaging winds were
expected to continue.
"It looks to stay quite wet over the next week across the
central portion of the country," said meteorologist Mark Chenard
of the National Weather Service (NWS) Weather Prediction Center
in College Park, Maryland.
A system of showers stretching from the Texas Panhandle and
western Oklahoma north to Nebraska were to bring flooding risks
on Thursday, Chenard said. A somewhat diminished threat of
tornadoes will persist from the Texas Panhandle through Kansas,
he added.
The weather service's St. Louis office confirmed tornadoes
touched down near Joplin, Missouri, late Wednesday, and local
media, including the Joplin Globe, reported at least three dead.
In Jefferson City, the state capital, officials said a
"massive" twister caused widespread damage to buildings, trees,
cars and power lines, but no fatalities.
"Many, many buildings have significant damage, and there's a
lot of them that just have small damage as well, so it's just
very widespread," Jefferson City Mayor Carrie Tergin told CNN.
Missouri Governor Mark Parson said at least 20 people were
treated at hospitals for injuries, most of them released shortly
thereafter, and praised the city's tornado warning system.
"That's why we didn't have any fatalities in Jefferson City
last night, why we didn't have more injuries," Parson said on
CNN.
Weather forecasters expect the region to get another two
inches (5 cm) of rain through Friday.
U.S. President Donald Trump said his heart went out to the
people of Missouri as they assessed the damage. "You are strong
and resilient, and we are here to assist," he wrote on Twitter.
Trump also urged Oklahomans to stay safe and listen to the
warnings of local officials. "We are with you!" he tweeted.
Earlier this week, a tornado killed at least one person in
Iowa, while two people in Oklahoma were killed in accidents on
rain-slicked roads and another died in flooding, which continues
to threaten many parts of the state.
The Arkansas River-front town of Webbers Falls was ordered
evacuated on Thursday, while residents of several other
rain-swollen riverfront communities were advised to leave,
Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management spokeswoman Keli
Caine said by phone.
Rainfall in the coming days is predicted to be about 2
inches (5 cm) across eastern Kansas, Oklahoma, and into western
Missouri, with localized spots getting up to 5 inches (13 cm),
forecasters said.