A tornado that tore through southeastern Missouri on Wednesday caused widespread destruction and killed and injured multiple people, the AP reports. The tornado moved through a rural area of Bollinger County, about 50 miles south of St. Louis, between 3:30 and 4am, said Sgt. Clark Parrott of the Missouri State Highway Patrol. He said it caused "multiple injuries and multiple deaths," but he didn't say how many or precisely where they occurred.
"The damage is pretty widespread. It’s just heartbreaking to see it," Parrott said. He said a search and rescue operation is underway that involves multiple agencies. Crews are having to use chainsaws to cut back trees and brush to reach homes. Per CNN, the current storm system has already spun off at least 10 tornadoes, and some 80 million Americans are under threat of severe weather on Wednesday. (More severe weather stories.)