Twenty Killed And Trail Of Damage Left

Chronicle (Levin), 1 May 1947, Page 5

Twenty Killed And Trail Of Damage Left

1 '* Press Assn.,

3 y Telegraph

rCopyright

Received Wednesday, 8.30 p.m. NEW YORK, April. 29. A tornado struek the village of Worth, Missouri, today killing at east 20 ahd injurihg 100. Worth 's population is 233. The tornado cut through the jentre of 1 the village destroying ' svery business house, the sehool, shurch, community hall, railway station, telephone offiee and nearLy every residence. An alert woman sehool teaeher who saw- the cloud approaching about five minutes before it hit, tierded all the pupils into the fruit cellar, saving them from possible death or serious injury. Because of the destruction of the telephone offiee Worth was virtually isolated from the outside world for several hours. The tornadic funnel was visible for- fiilly seven minutes before it struck the village, turning daylight into almost total darkness. It took grievous toi] of those residcnts who either failed to see the menacing- cloud or could not reach storm shelters in time, reducing most of the village to rubble and twisting motorears aud lieavy trucks into fantastic metal heaps, parts of which were lodged in trees that survived the hlow. The tornado was confined to' a limited area, the only other community seriously hit being Clio, a village aeross the State line in Iowa where property damage was extensive but there were no fatalities.-