A severe thunderstorm outbreak has left a trail of damage across five American states
A "severe" storm in the US produced damaging winds, baseball-sized hail, heavy rainfall and more than a dozen tornadoes from Texas to Illinois leaving a path of destruction over the weekend of April 23, and April 24, according to catastrophe modelling firm AIR worldwide.
The storms damaged thousands of commercial and residential buildings, leaving over 54,000 people with no power and disrupting transport. A portion of the main terminal of the Lambert-St. Louis International Airport was ripped off.
The governor of Missouri declared a state of emergency in the affected area yet, while power has been restored to many residents, 26,000 still remain without.
The biggest tornado hit the east central region of Missouri, with the most devastating one - the “Good Friday Tornado" - hitting St. Louis on Friday evening. Featuring winds of 166 to 200 mph It was the strongest tornado to hit the city in 44 years and it left a trail of debris 22 miles long and almost a half mile wide.
Dr. Tim Doggett, principal scientist at AIR Worldwide, stated that “at the level of winds produced even well-engineered buildings that are designed to survive very intense winds may sustain some damage to non-structural components such as wall cladding, windows and roofs”.
