Wind gusts were greater than 218 kilometers per hour. The states affected were Oklahoma, Iowa, Texas and Missouri.
April 28, 2024, 8:57 p.m.
Destruction and death caused by a network of tornadoes in Oklahoma (Video: X/@accuweather, AP Photo)
An exceptional number of tornadoes hit parts of Oklahoma and other nearby states in the Great Plains of the central United States. The phenomenon caused at least five dead, including a baby, local authorities and media reported this Sunday. The wind gusts were greater than 218 kilometers per hour and caused enormous destruction in their wake.
After 78 tornadoes were recorded on Friday, mainly in Iowa and Nebraska, 35 more were recorded on Saturday from northern Texas and Oklahoma to Missouri, according to the National Weather Service.
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The storms dumped up to 18 centimeters of rain in some places in a matter of hours. Forecasters warned of a persistent danger of extreme weather, including flash flooding, hail and more tornadoes.
The images show enormous devastation
The town of Sulfur, in south-central Oklahoma, was especially affected on Saturday night, according to videos and images posted on social media showing dozens of destroyed buildings.
The governor of Oklahoma, Kevin Stittconfirmed this Sunday from the small city the death of four people throughout the state.
Huge devastation caused by a swarm of tornadoes in Oklahoma (Video: X/Accuweather)
“The damage in Sulfur was the worst” he has seen in his six years in office, he said at a news conference. “It looks like every business downtown was destroyed,” he said.
“Thank God… there weren’t many people here at 10:30 at night,” he added. At least two of those who died in that state died in the town of Holdenville, reported the Department of Emergency Management (OEM). Local media reported that among the victims was a four-month-old baby.
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The agency assured that a fourth person died on a highway in Marietta, in southern Oklahoma, where videos published by the local press show several damaged cars along a highway and affected infrastructure. Meanwhile, in Iowa, a man who was injured by a tornado on Friday died in the hospital, his family told the station. KETV NewsWatch 7. In total, the fatalities amount to fivereported AFP.
Five people were killed by countless tornadoes in Oklahoma and other parts of the United States (Video: X/Accuweather)
The weather service reported that a preliminary investigation confirmed that the tornadoes in Sulfur and Marietta were at least EF-3, on the five-level Enhanced Fujita Scale, which means gusts greater than 218 kilometers per hour.
Governor Stitt declared a state of emergency for 30 days to expedite aid to 12 of the most affected counties
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More than 25,000 homes in Texas and about 19,000 in Oklahoma were without power as of Sunday afternoon, according to the PowerOutage website.
Tornadoes, a meteorological phenomenon that is as impressive as it is difficult to predict, are relatively common in the United States, particularly in the central and southern parts of the country during the spring. However, according to meteorologists, a succession of large tornadoes is very rare.
