A tornado that slammed into southeastern Missouri early Wednesday caused "multiple" fatalities and injuries and prompted a feverish search for survivors in the wreckage, authorities said.
Tornadoes were reported in parts of Illinois, Iowa and Missouri late Tuesday and early Wednesday, and severe storms forced brief ground stops at major airports in Chicago and Detroit.
The Missouri Highway Patrol tweeted that they were assisting agencies in Bollinger County in search and recovery efforts near the village of Glenallen, about 100 miles south of St. Louis.
“The damage is pretty widespread. It’s just heartbreaking to see it,” Sgt. Clark Parrott of the Missouri Highway Patrol said. Crews are having to use chainsaws to cut back trees and brush to reach homes, he said.