US - Ten dead in Midwest twisters

[Guest guest]

Ten dead in Midwest twisters

Springfield, Illinois, hit hard

Monday,

March 13, 2006; Posted: 10:44 a.m. EST

(15:44 GMT)

 

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois (AP) --

Swarms of tornadoes killed at least 10 people across the Midwest, shut down the

University of Kansas and damaged so much of Springfield, Illinois, on Monday

that the mayor said " every square inch " of town suffered some

effects.

The violent weather started during the weekend, part of a

line of storms that stretched from the southern Plains up the Ohio Valley, and continued Monday.

Fierce wind raked Springfield early Monday, causing more

damage in a city that had been struck by a tornado the night before. Power

lines were down across city, trees uprooted and windows blown out. (Watch

the swath of destruction as residents awake after the storm -- 1:22)

Nineteen people were treated for minor injuries, and police

were searching homes and businesses early Monday for other victims, city

spokesman Ernie Slottag said.

In a neighborhood of southwestern Springfield, Illinois, a

mother, father and child survived in their home overnight by huddling in a

bathroom as the storm ripped away the roof over their heads, CNN's Keith Oppenheim

reported. Powerful winds carried the roof across the street, depositing it in

their neighbor's backyard.

Not far away, at a Huck's gas station, snapped

power polls dangled over a roadway. Gasoline pumps were overturned amid

widespread debris -- plastic, plywood and sheet metal.

Mayor Tim Davlin said he expected " every square inch of

Springfield " will have suffered some effect from the storms.

" It's just unreal, " Davlin said early Monday from the city's Emergency Operations Center.

Most major roads into the city were closed, and one man was

reported missing after his home was destroyed. The roof was torn off a

Springfield Wal-Mart store.

The tornado that struck Springfield on Sunday had made a

two-hour pass through central Illinois, striking a series of counties. The Scott County, Illinois,

sheriff's department confirmed that a tornado touched down in Manchester, a town of about 300

people, although there were no immediate reports of injuries.

" It's a mess over there, " said Scott County sheriff's department dispatcher

Rosann Lindsey. " A lot of buildings are down over there. "

That length of time on or near the ground made the twister

" a highly unusual event, " said National Weather Service senior

forecaster Ed Shimon in Lincoln.

The same line of thunderstorms threatened to spawn more

twisters Monday in parts of Michigan and Indiana, where the National Weather Service issued tornado watches until

late morning and noontime, CNN meteorologist Chad Myers said. Watches are

issued when conditions are favorable for tornadoes.

The Chicago area also was struck by high wind, with gusts to 70 mph reported

in suburban Tinley Park, and roofs were blown off several apartment buildings in suburban

Bridgeview. Localized flooding was reported in the Chicago and Quad Cities areas.

Missouri was hardest hit by the

weekend storms, with at least nine people killed and hundreds of homes and

businesses destroyed or damaged. Hail as big as softballs pounded parts of Missouri.

Bobby Ritcheson, 23, said he watched as a neighbor was

killed south of Sedalia, Missouri.

" The trailer came down right on top of her, "

Ritcheson said from a Sedalia hospital where he had taken his pregnant wife out of concern she

might be going into labor.

Homes were destroyed along a path of more than 20 miles

south of St. Louis, officials said.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WEATHER/03/13/midwest.storms.ap/index.html

 

Dasha: Ve/Sa/Su/Ma/Ma since 08:52 AM UTC, on Monday.

 Ve/Sa/Su/Ma/Ra started at 01:35 PM UTC.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

satva

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jorge Angelino

 

 

Rua da Sociedade Filarmónica

Perpétua Azeitonense, 29

2925-598 Azeitão

Portugal

 

 

 

 

jorge.angelino

 

 

 

 

 

 

tel:

mobile:

 

 

210813674

963916784

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Add me to your address book...

 

 

Want a signature like

this?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

--

 

 

Version: 7.1.375 / Virus Database: 268.2.2/280 - Release 13.03.2006