‘The devil is trying to kill me’
Missouri capital cleans up after twister strikes
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The tornado warning sirens had quieted, and Larry Jett was dozing in his recliner when the piercing alerts began again.
It was too late to scramble to the basement as the twister that tore through this city overnight descended on his family home of 40 years. His mother, Bettie, flung herself onto the chair with him as the storm sucked the recliner to the ceiling before dropping them all to the floor.
“It happened so quick you didn’t even know what happened,” Larry Jett, 57, said Thursday as they picked through debris. “I swear the devil is trying to kill me.”
The tornado left 20 people injured, scores of buildings damaged and residents trapped in their homes, police Lt. David Williams said from the damaged Cole County Sheriff ’s Office building.
The Midwest has been hammered by scores of tornadoes and heavy storms in recent days, leaving at least seven dead and a trail of damage from the high winds and flooding. Forecasters warned of more severe weather through Friday.
The tornado struck hours after a twister roared through the rural hamlet of Golden City, killing three people. No fatalities were reported in Jefferson City, the state’s capital and home to more than 40,000 people.
Williams said the twister cut through a 3-mile swath of the city, where tornado sirens first sounded shortly after 11 p.m. Wednesday. At 11:39 p.m., first responders received the first report of damage to a home. At least 20 people trapped in their homes were rescued, Williams said.
Gov. Mike Parson said he was grateful that many people heeded the warnings. “We were very fortunate last night that we didn’t have more injuries,” he said. “We are very thankful that we didn’t have more fatalities than we did.”
Mayor Carrie Tergin said a “significant portion” of the city was without power Thursday. Authorities warned residents not to begin cleanup operations until power was restored.
“It sounds as if the injuries have been few, which is truly amazing considering the extent of the damage,” Tergin said on CNN. “A lot of devastating damage to buildings, but buildings can be replaced . ... We are going to work together to get through this.”
Based on preliminary damage survey from the National Weather Service, the Jefferson City tornado was rated an EF3, with winds estimated at 160 mph.
Five children were sleeping at the home of Natile Walker, 38, when the sirens sounded. She rounded them up and hustled them into the basement as the house started shaking. The next day, Walker surveyed the damage – her roof gone, debris covering her lawn.
She repeated a recurring theme: “It happened so fast.”
In the Golden City area of Barton County, Missouri Public Safety confirmed three deaths. Kenneth Harris, 86, and his wife, Opal, 83, were found dead about 200 yards from their home. Betty Berg, 56, was killed and her husband, Mark, seriously injured when their mobile home was destroyed.
That tornado was part of a weather system that swept into the state from Oklahoma, which has been the scene of tornadoes and flash flooding this week.
While storms batter the central USA, extreme heat will be the story in the Southeast for the next several days. Record high temperatures, some nearing 100 degrees, are possible in states from Alabama to Virginia.
Bacon reported from McLean, Va. Contributing: Kristin Lam, Ryan W. Miller and Doyle Rice, USA TODAY; Austin Huguelet, Springfield News-Leader; The Associated Press