Mississippi's latest tornado leaves 5 dead, about 40 million likely affected

A tornado in southeastern Missouri left a heavy trail of destruction with at least five people dead by the end of Wednesday (April 5). All deaths reportedly occurred in Bollinger County about 80 km south of St. Louis.

"The damage is pretty widespread. It's just heartbreaking to see it," Clark Parrott of the Missouri State Highway Patrol was quoted as saying by CBS News.
Drone footage showed emergency crews attempting to discover signs of life into the wreckage with flashlights.

Mississippi tornado: How destructive was it?

A preliminary survey of the damage by the National Weather Service concluded the tornado had estimated peak winds of 130 mph and a maximum width of 150 yards. Its path was 22.3 miles long, NWS said.

The forecast by the Storm Prediction Center had said that up to 40 million people in an area that includes Chicago, Indianapolis, Detroit and Memphis, Tennessee, were at risk from the storms later Wednesday. As of late morning, the greatest threat appeared to be to an area stretching from lower Michigan into Tennessee and Kentucky, CBS News reported.

Some 75,000 homes and businesses in the Midwest, Arkansas and Texas were without power as of midday on Wednesday, according to Poweroutage data cited by Reuters.

ALSO WATCH |Devasting tornadoes wreak havoc in West Georgia and Mississippi

The storm comes days after violent tornadoes tore through parts of the South and Midwest, and as far east as Delaware, killing at least 32 people and leaving damaged and destroyed homes and businesses in their wake.

A week before, a tornado devastated the Mississippi Delta town of Rolling Fork, destroying many of the community’s 400 homes and killing 26 people.

(With inputs from agencies)

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