Woman killed after church roof collapses during tornado strike in St. Louis

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FOX Weather's Katie Byrne is successful St. Louis wherever a apt tornado struck and shattered a church. She has the latest from crossed the heartland.

ST. LOUIS – Seven radical were killed aft a tornado tore done parts of Missouri connected Friday evening, with 5 of those deaths coming from St. Louis alone.

One of those lives mislaid was a 70-year-old pistillate who was a moderator astatine Centennial Christian Church, located successful the Fountain Park vicinity of northwest St. Louis which took a nonstop deed from the storm.

The tornado slammed into the church, toppling portion of its extortion and trapping radical sheltering determination nether the rubble. Footage of the religion aft the tempest shows parts of its extortion wholly gone and reddish ceramic from its walls littering the beforehand lawn.

"It’s devastating to perceive that idiosyncratic died from the church," St. Louis nonmigratory Maurice Jones told FOX Weather. "We’re each conscionable trying to enactment beingness backmost unneurotic astatine this point."

Some of the extortion harm astatine Centennial Christian Church.

(Katie Byrne / FOX Weather)

DEADLY TORNADO OUTBREAK LEAVES AT LEAST 16 DEAD ACROSS KENTUCKY, MISSOURI

Dozens of different homes adjacent could beryllium seen without their roofs, exposing families to the elements. They were portion of astatine slightest 5,000 homes successful St. Louis that experienced immoderate benignant of tempest damage, according to St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer.

"The country is conscionable hard-hit from this, and I truly don’t cognize however to retrieve from this," Jones said to FOX Weather Correspondent Katie Byrne.

Maurice Jones.

(Katie Byrne / FOX Weather)

Jones, describing the infinitesimal helium tried to question structure from the storm, said his location suffered harm too.

"I went to the backmost of my house. My doorway was virtually sucked retired of my manus and astatine an instant I could spot my room extortion falling down," helium said.

In summation to having mislaid their homes, galore families are struggling to find nutrient arsenic the tempest knocked retired power, leaving nutrient to spoil arsenic freezers and refrigerators could nary longer work.

Roof harm to homes adjacent Centennial Christian Church.

(Katie Byrne / FOX Weather)

For those whose homes nary longer person roofs, they are successful request of tarps to screen what they person near of their homes.

"It’s emotional. I don’t truly cognize what to accidental but it’s hard," assemblage subordinate Andre Branyon said to Byrne. "This is hard close here. I tin spot what radical are going through. This is hard."

He added that this is the archetypal clip he’s ever experienced this benignant of devastation from a storm.