This is the report from our local news on the storms that we had on Sunday
There were around 85 tornadoes reported in Missouri and Illinois I don't think there were tornadoes anywhere near St Louis but some areas were hit really hard Here is the report from local news.
Midwest confronts aftermath of deadly tornadoes
05/06/2003
(KMOV)
Pierce City, MO
PIERCE CITY, Mo. (AP) - Adrenalin-fueled cleanups of tornado damage moved ahead across the Midwest as the death toll in Missouri rose by one, and residents still shocked by widespread damage also are grappling with uncertainty about the future even whether to rebuild at all.
Residents and business owners said damage was so extensive some may never recover. The death toll in Missouri rose to at least 18, along with seven deaths in Kansas and 13 in Tennessee.
Lawrence County Sheriff Doug Seneker said Tuesday the body of a child, about two years old, was found in debris north of Monett. The county coroner, Don Lakin, said the child's name was Jacob Rueda.
Check this out
Streaming video of tornado
Photos of Missouri storm damage
Photos of lightning over St. Louis area
NWS report on Kansas City area tornadoes
Red Cross information on helping storm victims
KMOV.com weather
How do tornadoes form?
With its downtown gone, Stockton, Mo., regroups to rebuild after tornado
Victims of Sunday's tornadoes
FEMA to help victims of midwest tornadoes
Almost nothing left untouched as storm hits small Missouri city
Send us your weather photos
By noon in Pierce City, the list of missing had dropped to only one, said city spokeswoman Jaci McReynolds. It had listed 11 names just hours earlier, and all 10 accounted for were found alive and well.
The specter of storms also returned, as with tornado warnings in Missouri's Vernon, St. Clair, Hickory and Benton counties, and Kansas' Lyon County, expiring uneventfully Tuesday morning as thunderstorms rumbled across both states.
The priority Tuesday in Pierce City was inspecting what's left of the devastated buildings downtown, as well as area school buildings. Teams from the State Emergency Management Agency checked 40 buildings overnight for structural soundness, and "None of them is completely safe," McReynolds said.
Business owner Cindy Gitchel broke into sobs Monday and hugged visiting Gov. Bob Holden as he toured the town. She had dived under a desk when the tornado hit downtown Sunday evening.
"How can we save this?" she asked Holden, gesturing to the once-quaint architecture that had crumbled into heaps of rubble. "We have to try and save it. This town is 130 years old and you just don't find this anymore."
"The reason this town is 130 years old is because of people like you," the governor answered. "This town will be back."
Holden has asked the White House to declare a federal disaster in 39 counties. Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius also declared disasters or emergencies in several counties.
Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Michael D. Brown arrived in Kansas on Tuesday morning to tour Wyandotte and Leavenworth counties, and he later toured Pierce City. The regional FEMA office has set up a command center to track damage reports from both states.
Brown said he expected federal authorities to declare several counties in both states disaster areas.
"This is the heart of the community and it's just gone," Brown said after a walk through Pierce City. "It's a war zone and it's absolutely amazing."
Holden also declared a state of emergency and directed about 170 Missouri National Guard soldiers to assist the communities badly damaged by tornadoes. The governor's office said as many as 50 counties may have suffered damages and said 15 shelters had been set up in affected areas.