Tornado rips through Missouri, kills five

The tornado that hit Missouri is the third in a series of massive storms that have wreaked havoc in the United States over the past two weeks. The impact of the tornado was most severe in the village Glen Allen.A deadly tornado tore through southeastern Missouri on Wednesday killing at least five people and injuring another five.

The tornado in Missouri hit the state around 3:30 a.m. local time (0830 GMT) ravaging through the rural area of Bollinger County.

The tornado hit the village Glen Allen, the hardest where it downed trees, reduced homes to piles of splinters and destroyed power lines.

The tornado damaged 87 structures of which 12 buildings were destroyed, said Eric Olson, superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson said government aid will be provided to those who lost their homes. "This is going to be weeks upon months to be able to recover," Parson said, adding that President Joe Biden called to offer help.

Usually, tornadoes in the Midwest occur later in the spring but the early onset of extreme weather has continued the trend observed in the past few years, said Bill Bunting, chief of forecast operations at the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma.

The tornado which hit the midwestern US state is the third in a series of massive storms that have wreaked havoc in the country over the past two weeks.

The storms have triggered dozens of tornadoes mostly in the South and Midwest regions of the United States, killing at least 63 people.