Deadly Storms Sweep Through Three States

By Associated Press
May 12, 2008

SENECA, Mo. — Stunned survivors picked through the little that was left of their communities yesterday after tornadoes tore across the Plains and South, killing at least 22 people in three states and leaving behind a trail of destruction and stories of loss.

At least 15 people died in southwestern Missouri. In the fading mining town of Picher, Okla., at least six people were killed, and at least one person died in storms in Georgia.

Susan Roberts, 61, stared at the smashed remains of her classic 1985 Cadillac sitting on her living room floor — the only thing left of her Seneca, Mo. home. A woman who had apparently sought shelter in the car died there, she said.

"That is what is tearing me up," Ms. Roberts said. She had warned the woman — who stopped to change a tire as Ms. Roberts and her 13-year-old grandson drove away from the rental house — to escape. The tornado hit just minutes later. The same storm system earlier hit Oklahoma, where at least six people died and 150 people were injured in Picher.