Severe storms that swept through the US states of Missouri, Kentucky and Virginia left more than 25 people dead, laying waste to local communities and cutting off electricity to nearly 200,000, authorities said Saturday.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said on X at least 18 people had died in the storms Friday night, while local officials in Missouri said another seven were dead there.
Two people were also killed by falling trees in Virginia, local media reported.
Missouri governor Mike Kehoe said on X that he and his wife were "deeply saddened to learn of the deaths and injuries caused by the tornadoes and severe storms".
The Washington Post cited officials as saying that five people had been killed in St Louis.
"Our city is grieving," Mayor Cara Spencer told reporters last night.
"The loss of life and the destruction is truly horrendous."
St Louis resident Joan Miller's 1912 home was partially destroyed with walls ripped away.
Watch: Tornadoes in Missouri and Kentucky leave houses in ruins
She said when the wind started and the tree out front was shaking violently, she told her husband they should get out "and suddenly all the doors shut. The windows flew out from the bedroom . . . downstairs, my kitchen wall, dining room wall, the bedroom wall over here, completely gone."
Another resident, Onita Williams, said: "I looked to my left...everything just swirling away from me. And I just started praying."
