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Severe Weather Leaves One Dead In Minnesota, 22 Injured

05/22/11-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
One person is dead and twenty-two hurt after a major storm hit Minnesota last night. The system, which was part of a line of severe weather that swept across the Midwest, included several tornadoes, large hail and damaging winds that caused havoc and damage from the Ozarks to the Great Lakes. The system is heading now towards New England. According to Minneapolis police spokeswoman Sara Dietrich, the storm left one person dead in the city. North Memorial Medical Center stated that it had treated eighteen people for minor injuries.

Director of emergency management for the city of Joplin and Jasper County Keith Stammer stated that a possible tornado hit Joplin, Missouri. So far, the number of injuries from Joplin has not been reported, but there appear to be no deaths. Tractor trailers were strewn along I-44 west of Joplin according to Michael Ratliff, a storm chaser.

LeDale Davis, a resident of the north side of Minneapolis, stated that at least one tornado touched down about three blocks from his house and tore through restaurants, gas stations and homes in the commercial district around Broadway and Penn Avenue. He told CNN “This is the first time we can remember a tornado touched down in this area. They aren’t usually in the heart of the city.” Sheriff’s dispatcher Linda Hamilton of Anoka County stated that they are receiving reports of roofs blown off, trees down and gas leaks. She stated that the worst damage appears to have been in Fridley, on the northern outskirts of the metro area.

According to CNN:

Curby Rogers said warning sirens sounded near her northwest Minneapolis home Sunday afternoon. Shortly afterward, the light rain that had been falling was whipped into sheets by heavy wind, and power went out.

“We could hear doors busting open through the house,” Rogers said. “There was a lot of commotion, and then it was silent.”

When she and a visiting friend emerged from their house, the streets were blocked by debris and a tree had fallen on her car. Around the corner, the damage was “a million times worse,” with some houses split in half.