AFP - At least 24 people were killed Sunday in a tornado that struck the small town of Joplin, in the State of Missouri (center), local media reported, less than a month after other hurricanes had caused enormous damage in the southeastern United States.
President Barack Obama has sent a message of "deep condolences" to relatives of victims.He assured that the federal government stood ready to help the Americans.
According to the newspaper Springfield News-Leader, Ryan Nicholls, head of the Office of Crisis Management of the Springfield-Greene County (east of Joplin), confirmed that 24 people had been killed.
Joplin, located a few kilometers from the states of Kansas and Oklahoma, was hit hard by the tornado, the paper said.
In early May, tornadoes, the deadliest in nearly a century, had hit the southeast United States, which killed 354.
"Department stores Home Depot and Walmart Joplin were razed. Gas stations, buildings.Wherever I turn my eyes, everything has been severely damaged or completely destroyed, "said John Miller, a freelance photographer working for the News-Leader.
"I saw fire and medical crews remove a small girl in a car at Home Depot," said Miller, adding that "part of the building of the department store fell on the vehicle."
The governor of Missouri Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency and requested the intervention of the National Guard.
"These tornadoes have caused extensive damage across Missouri, and constitute a certain risk to its inhabitants and their houses," Nixon said Sunday evening in a statement.
"We have made every effort to assist families in Missouri, find missing persons, and provide emergency medical assistance," said Nixon.
He also said that tornadoes were not completed.
"I urge Missouri residents to closely monitor the latest weather reports and follow the instructions and warnings of emergency services so that these deadly tornadoes continued their advance in the state of Missouri," he told Jay Nixon .
Jerry Williams, a senior at the University of Missouri said, for his part, he lived experience "horrible.""It's as if someone had dropped a bomb," he told the News-Leader.
Saturday, a deadly tornado struck the town of Reading in eastern Kansas, killing one man and damaging about 80% of its homes.
A tornado also caused the death of one person Sunday in Minneapolis, Minnesota, authorities said. At least 18 people were injured.
