Big Hint Tornado

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 3:14 PM on 24th April 2011

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• Big clean-up operation, 26,000 people still without power
• It was like being in a horror movie, says air passenger

This was the scene of devastation left by the tornado which hit several counties in St Louis and tore off the roof of the city's International airport.
Around 750 homes in Maryland Heights and Bridgeton were destroyed or damaged as the storm left car overturned in driveways and lawns and cut power to 50,000 people.
Miraculously, only three residents suffered minor injuries. 'It almost feels like a little bit of divine intervention when you look at the devastation,' said Governor Jay Nixon.
After declaring a state of emergency, Nixon said he had spoken to President Obama yesterday who has promised federal aid.
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Ripped up: Debris is strewn around this home in Bridgeton St Louis County. Miraculously only three people suffered minor injuries during the storm

Battered: In this aerial photograph, homes have been destroyed in Bridgeton with neighbours surveying the damage

Wrecked: Robert Hayes surveys the remains of his father's house after the storm raged in Bridgeton

From the air, one home looked like a doll house that had had its roof lifted off.
Roofers were going door to door in Bridgeton and Maryland Heights today to offer free temporary repairs.
'It's crazy - like something you'd see in a movie,' said Tim Kreitler, 27, as he helped a neighbour  in Bridgeton.
Vivi Magana, 17, and her parents have a huge tree in the front yard which had been pulled out by the roots and an even larger tree in the back split down the middle.

The roof is gone but the wallpaper remains: Cherly Schlater goes through what is left of her grandson's storm-damaged home in Maryland Heights, Missouri

Devastation: People search for belongings in a house that had its roof torn off by the storm system in Bridgeton

A sliding glass door was shattered, and holes were in the roof. There are still 26,000 people without power 36 hours after the tornado struck on Friday night.
At Lambert airport, five people were taken to hospital with cuts when half the plate glass windows in the main terminal were blown out, sending debris raining down on passengers.

Around 1,000 workers were involved in the clean-up operation today, boarding up windows and sweeping  up glass.

U-turn: The road sign was bent over by the force of the tornado near the international airport in St Louis

Uprooted: A tree lies across the roof of a home - one of 750 destroyed or damaged by the storm

The airport was so badly damaged it only reopened last night, operating a reduced flight schedule.American Airlines has cancelled over 100 flights so far.
One of their 757 jets sustained significant damage and four other American aircraft had minor damage. Five or six flights had to be diverted from St. Louis.
Winds were so severe they blew an airport shuttle bus to the end of a car park where it teetered over the edge.
The terminal is expected to operate at around 70 per cent of its normal capacity today.
Airport director Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge said: 'We're not going to have the prettiest airport, but we will have an operating airport.'
At least two planes were stranded briefly on the tarmac on Friday night because of debris before passengers were later taken away by buses.

Gaping: A large hole is seen in the roof of the main terminal. Five people were treated in hospital for cuts when half the windows were blown out by the storm

Destruction: Storm damage is seen next to a parking garage outside terminal one at St. Louis International

Smashed up: The aftermath of the tornado which sprayed debris over the airfield and burst glass in the airport

One passenger said she felt lucky to be alive and  described it as 'like being in a horror movie.'

Brett Knewitz, who was evacuated from his flight, told CNN his plane 'was rocking back and forth'.
Initially, they were not allowed into the terminal because officials feared the roof would collapse. Once inside he saw an injured gate agent who was 'bleeding like crazy.'
Sirens went off inside the airport and staff scrambled to rush hundreds of passengers into bathrooms and offices to ride out the storm.
Dianna Merrill, a mail carrier from St. Louis, was waiting inside the terminal to fly to New York when the storm hit.
She said: 'Glass was blowing everywhere. The ceiling was falling. The glass was hitting us in the face. Hail and rain were coming in.

'It was like being in a horror movie': Four passengers were taken to hospital after being hit by flying glass, while others were treated at the scene

Perilous: A shuttle bus was blown across a car park and left teetering dangerously over the edge

'The wind was blowing debris all over the place. It was like being in a horror movie. Grown men were crying. It was horrible.'
Outside the airport two state highways were also closed because of debris, and an estimated 20 homes were damaged in St. Charles County just west of the airport.
Dozens of vehicles overturned, have made it harder for emergency crews to get through.In one neighbourhood near St Louis County, television reports showed a man wandering in the rubble holding up pictures and pieces of broken furniture.
The tornado was part of a band of thunderstorms moving through Missouri and Illinois across Indiana and into part of Kentucky and Ohio.

Over the years, storms and tornadoes have claimed hundreds of lives in the St. Louis region, one of the most active urban areas for tornadoes in the United States.
The worst tornado in St. Louis history killed 137 people and left 550 injured in 1927 and was the second costliest in U.S. history.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1379828/St-Louis-tornado-4-injured-storm-rips-roof-Missouri-airport-concourse.html#ixzz1KV2R2aIR