|
In Wright County, Missouri, a county of about 19,000 residents
210 miles (340 kilometers) southeast of Kansas City, a
70-year-old man and 73-year-old woman were in a vehicle swept
away by flooding at Beaver Creek around 4:30 a.m. Tuesday, the
state patrol said. The bodies of the couple from Manes,
Missouri, were found more than four hours later.
Wright County Clerk Loni Pedersen confirmed that both of the
people who died were poll workers.
“This is a tragic loss for Wright County,” Pedersen said in an
email. “They were dedicated citizens who valued fair and honest
elections.”
Three people in two other cars swept away by the fast-rising
creek were able to swim to safety, the patrol said.
Two other deaths were reported in St. Louis County. Firefighters
were called Tuesday morning after a submerged SUV was spotted
near flooded Gravois Creek, near Interstate 55. Crews broke
through the sunroof and pulled out a woman, who was pronounced
dead, Lemay Fire Protection District spokesperson Jason Brice
said.
Hours later, a man’s body was found in the same flooded creek,
Brice said. Authorities were investigating how the body got
there. Fire crews rescued 10 other people from flooded vehicles,
Brice said.
On Monday, Missouri state troopers recovered a 66-year-old man’s
body after a car was swept off a bridge in Ironton, about 90
miles (145 kilometers) south of St. Louis.
The National Weather Service said four likely tornadoes, and
possibly more, touched down in parts of Oklahoma and Arkansas on
Monday. There were no reports of deaths or injuries from the
tornadoes.
Keli Cain, spokesperson for the Oklahoma Department of Emergency
Management, said assessments of the damage were underway.
The storms struck a day after tornadoes injured at least 11
people in the Oklahoma City area in central Oklahoma.
Cain said the department worked with the Oklahoma State Election
Board to ensure that polling places were not disrupted.
All contents © copyright 2024 Associated Press. All rights
reserved |
|
