Tornadoes leave widespread damage in Missouri

AccuWeather

Katy Linnenbrink, with Missouri's state emergency management agency, joins AccuWeather to discuss how the state is responding to devastation left behind by severe storms.

Transcript

00:00Tragically, Missouri was hit the hardest last night with deadly tornadoes, and Katie Linenbrink

00:06is a public information officer for Missouri State Emergency Management Agency. Katie,

00:10thanks so much for joining us. I know that this was a horrible night. Nasty storms into the St.

00:15Louis metro, but even a more vicious storm near the Arkansas line. So what is the latest? We know

00:21there have been fatalities and property damage. Yeah, yeah. So right now our initial reports are

00:27showing there were potentially up to 19 tornadoes with varying strengths and intensities across 25

00:34counties in Missouri. So of course the National Weather Service will be verifying that over the

00:39coming days. We're working with our state and local partners to support response efforts.

00:44Our regional coordinators are in the field surveying and assessing damage as we prepare

00:49for a potential federal disaster declaration. At this time, sadly, the Missouri State Highway

00:55Patrol has confirmed 11 fatalities and will be sharing more information as it's verified.

01:02Okay, where are your teams deploying to help and what kinds of assistance is needed right now?

01:09Yeah, so like I said, widespread damage in Missouri. Some of the areas that were hit

01:14hardest include, you know, Rolla and Phelps County, Butler County, Wayne County. So we've got

01:21people kind of spread out everywhere. And right now, you know, our main concern is,

01:26you know, life safety and allowing our emergency crews and responders room to work and clear

01:34debris and restore power. With power outages and more danger, what tips do you have for residents

01:40to stay safe? Again, the storms are exiting Missouri, but sometimes people get hurt right

01:45after the storm with some utility problems and other dangers at play. Yeah, absolutely. There's

01:51a lot of debris out there right now, a lot of power lines down. So we are really urging residents

01:56to avoid impacted areas, stay away from the damage to allow our crews room to work safely.

02:04Treat all downed power lines as live always. If you are out of power and operating a generator,

02:10be sure to operate it outdoors only. Make sure it's well ventilated. Those should be used for

02:16emergency standby power only and for short periods of time. So just making sure you're

02:22exercising proper usage for ventilators and staying safe as debris is cleared and cleaned up.

02:30I know it sounds kind of counterintuitive to talk about this right after heavy rain and

02:34thunderstorms, but fire danger is going to escalate again into early next week

02:38in Missouri. Are there any other concerns that you have as people begin the recovery process?

02:44Yeah, absolutely. So we're certainly still monitoring the concern for fire with dry and

02:48windy conditions over these next few days. So we remind citizens to stay vigilant,

02:54avoid any activities that could potentially spark or spread a fire quickly. All right,

03:00Katie Linenbrink with Missouri State's Emergency Management Agency in Jefferson

03:04City. Thanks again. We appreciate your time there, Katie. Thank you.

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