KANSAS CITY (Reuters)– Tornadoes overnight in northeast Kansas killed one person and damaged some 200 homes, and resulted in a state of emergency being declared for 16 counties, state officials said on Sunday.
Elsewhere in the country, towns along the lower Mississippi River were coping with floodwaters, and parts of the Midwest and Southeast faced the threat of violent thunderstorms, hail and strong winds.
In Kansas the known tornado damage was centered around the town of Reading, said Kansas Division of Emergency Management spokeswoman Sharon Watson.
Initial reports"indicate there are 200 homes in the town and surrounding community that have some type of damage ranging from minor to severe ... Another 20 homes have been destroyed," she told Reuters by phone.
A separate statement from the Emergency Management Division said most of the destroyed homes were in the town.
Gail Lewis was on her way to Reading to visit friends when the tornado struck. She said she arrived in town before most responders and saw downed trees and damaged homes.
"Our church had one side completely blown out," said Lewis, whose father is pastor of the Reading First Baptist Church.
"People were in shock last night," Lewis said."It's a devastating blow for such a small community."
Reading residents were given access to town until 6 p.m. Sunday to check on property and then tentatively will be allowed to return at 9 a.m. Monday, said Tammy Vopat, spokeswoman for the Lyon County Emergency Management office.
A fatality had also been confirmed early on Sunday morning from the twister that struck at around 9:15 p.m. on Saturday night in the town of around 250 people and the surrounding area. There were reports of at least five injuries.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the victim and everyone impacted by this storm," Governor Sam Brownback was quoted as saying in the Emergency Management statement.
It said that earlier in the evening a tornado reportedly touched down in Jefferson County at a campground. A mobile home was destroyed and an elderly couple trapped inside until emergency responders could clear the debris. The couple was uninjured.
Damage from tornadoes and storms in other parts of the state was still being assessed, Watson said, but included broken windows in cars and buildings, mostly from hail and strong winds.
There was potential for more storms on Sunday, she said.
Elsewhere in the nation, AccuWeather.com meteorologists have forecast"violent" thunderstorms across the Mississippi River and Ohio River valleys on Sunday, with most of the strongest storms beginning in the afternoon.
Central Texas, central Arkansas, northern Mississippi and western Tennessee are also expected to experience severe weather.
Meteorologists said the main threats will be large hail and damaging wind gusts, but flash flooding and isolated tornadoes also could be problems.
"Cities under the gun include St. Louis, Springfield, Chicago, Dallas and Abilene," an AccuWeather.com report said.
"Fairly significant" rains are predicted to continue in the Ohio and Mississippi river valleys during the next five days, said National Weather Service meteorologist Larry Vannozzi.
But the rains won't be as widespread or intense as the weeks of heavy downpours that contributed to the Mississippi River rising to historic levels, said Vannozzi.
The river, which hit record crests in Mississippi at Vicksburg and Natchez, will slowly inch downward at those gauges in the next few days and is unlikely to rise again as a result of the additional rain, Vannozzi said.
"It's just going to prevent it from getting better sooner," he said.
(Writing by Jerry Norton; Editing by Colleen Jenkins)
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