JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Bishop W. Shawn McKnight of Jefferson City
expressed gratitude that lives were spared and that all residents of the
Missouri capital are accounted for following a devastating tornado.
He said in a May 23 statement that the staff of Catholic
Charities of Central and Northern Missouri were assessing the needs of residents.
Some people were forced from their homes as the storm swept through the city of
43,000 just before midnight May 22.
Diocesan offices on the west side of Jefferson City and Catholic
parishes around the town were unaffected by the storm.
"Please continue to pray with us, for those who have
suffered from this natural disaster and also for those who are coming to their
assistance," Bishop McKnight said.
The most severe damage occurred in a three-square-mile area south
and east of the central part of the Missouri capital, Jefferson City Police Lt.
David Williams told reporters.
About 40 to 45 people were being housed the afternoon of May 23
in a school on the west side of the city, authorities said.
Homes, apartments and businesses lost roofs and windows. Power
lines were down and trees and other debris blocked roads, hampering the initial
emergency response. Some scaffolding erected around the Missouri State Capitol
for renovation work was damaged, but the building escaped unscathed.
A spokeswoman for Catholic Charities USA said the agency was
working with Catholic Charities of Central and Northern Missouri to assess how
to best respond to people affected by the storm.
CCUSA also is weighing its response in areas of northeast
Oklahoma and elsewhere, where residents have been displaced by flooding caused
by days of heavy rain.
A violent line of thunderstorms that spawned the tornadoes killed
three people in southwest Missouri and caused minor injuries to at least 20
people in Jefferson City, authorities said. Some people in the capital were
trapped in their homes or apartments and had to be assisted by safety forces.