At least four people died and authorities were searching from building to building for people who were trapped or hurt after severe storms including a possible tornado swept through St. Louis.
The storms Friday afternoon tore roofs off buildings, ripped bricks off of siding and downed trees and power lines as residents were urged to take cover.
St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer confirmed the deaths at a media briefing.
“This is truly, truly devastating,” Spencer said, adding that the city was in the process of declaring an emergency.
National Weather Service radar indicated that a tornado touched down between 2:30 p.m. and 2:50 p.m. in Clayton, Missouri, in the St. Louis area. The apparent tornado touched down in the area of Forest Park, home to the St. Louis Zoo and the site of the 1904 World’s Fair and Olympic Games the same year.
At Centennial Christian Church, City of St. Louis Fire Department Battalion Chief William Pollihan told The Associated Press that three people had to be rescued after part of the church crumbled. One of those people died.
Stacy Clark said his mother-in-law Patricia Penelton died in the church. He described her as a very active church volunteer who had many roles, including being part of the choir.
“Pray for our church,” Centennial Christian posted on its Facebook page.
Jeffrey Simmons Sr., who lives across the street from the church, heard an alert on his phone and then the lights went out.
“And next thing you know, a lot of noise, heavy wind,” he said. He and his brother went into the basement. Later, he realized it was worse than he thought: “Everything was tore up.”
Downed trees and stop lights also caused traffic gridlock during the Friday afternoon commute, and officials urged people to stay home if possible.
The upper stories of the Harlem Taproom's brick building were demolished when the storm came through, leaving piles of bricks around the outside. About 20 people were inside, but they huddled in the back of the building and none of them were hurt, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
John Randle, a 19-year-old University of Missouri-St. Louis student, said he and his girlfriend were at the St. Louis Art Museum during the storm and got hustled into the basement with about 150 other people.
He said they could hear tree branches and hail hitting the building’s windows and that he went up a flight of stairs to the main entrance for about 10 seconds.
"You could see the doors flying open, tree branches flying by and people running,” he said. “A lot of people were caught outside.”
Christy Childs, a spokesperson for the Saint Louis Zoo, said in a text that the zoo would remain closed Saturday because of downed trees and other damage. Childs said all animals were safe and that there were no reports of significant injuries to staff, guests or animals.
“We can’t definitively say whether or not it was a tornado -- it likely was,” National Weather Service meteorologist Marshall Pfahler said.
The storms were part of a severe weather system that spawned tornadoes in Wisconsin, downed trees, left thousands without power in the Great Lakes region and brought a punishing heat wave to Texas.
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Associated Press writer Haya Panjwani in Washington and Heather Hollingsworth in Kansas City, Missouri, contributed to this story.