Several people killed as powerful storms, tornadoes slam Central U.S.

Several people have died in a series of powerful storms and tornadoes sweeping across the central United States. Officials have warned residents in parts of Missouri, Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa and Illinois to stay vigilant and “take cover as needed” as the extreme weather conditions continue to threaten the region.

A tornado killed at least three people in Golden City, Missouri, and injured several others in nearby Carl Junction on Wednesday, state authorities confirmed.

According to The Weather Channel, that same twister may have then struck the town of Joplin — exactly eight years after a catastrophic tornado devastated the city. The 2011 EF5 tornado killed more than 150 people in Joplin and injured hundreds of others.

No serious injuries have been reported in Joplin following Wednesday’s storm.

Late Wednesday night, the National Weather Service issued a tornado emergency after a powerful “wedge tornado” — so called because its funnel is wider than it is tall — was observed over the state capital of Jefferson City. The “violent tornado” was moving at a speed of 40 mph, the weather service said, and had sent debris 13,000 feet into the air.

Extensive infrastructure damage has been reported in the area; injuries and casualties remain unknown, however.

First-responders were going door-to-door to check on Jefferson City residents, officials said.

“Please pray for our citizens,” the city’s fire department wrote on Facebook in the early hours of Thursday.

As CNN noted, the tornadoes are part of a spring storm system that’s lashed the central U.S. with rain, flash flooding and hail over the past few days.

Several other storm-related fatalities were reported earlier this week, including a Missouri couple killed in a car accident during a downpour on Tuesday and a woman who died after a tornado struck a farmstead in rural west-central Iowa in the early hours of Wednesday.

The Weather Channel said at least seven storm-related fatalities have been reported.

Watches for tornadoes and flash flooding have been placed for swathes of the region, stretching from Oklahoma City to central Illinois. Extreme weather events could continue to threaten the area until Thursday.

Officials have urged residents to check local forecasts and to take necessary precautions.

″[T]ake storm warnings seriously,” Missouri Gov. Mike Parson wrote on Twitter on Wednesday, ”& act quickly to protect yourself & your family.”

• This article originally appeared on HuffPost.