Tornadoes claimed the lives of four people in Oklahoma and left thousands without power Sunday after a destructive Severe weather outbreak leveled structures in the heart of a rural town and left at least 100 people injured across the state.
More than 20,000 people remained without power after the tornadoes appeared Saturday night. The damage was extensive in Sulphur, a town of about 5,000 inhabitants, where some buildings in the center were reduced to rubble and the roofs of houses were torn off in a 15-block radius.
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 (NWS).
“Can’t believe the destructionOklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt said during a visit to the site. “It looks like all the downtown businesses were destroyed.”
He said about 30 people were injured in Sulfur, including some who were at a bar when the tornado hit. Hospitals across the state reported about 100 injuries, including some victims with apparent cuts or bruises from debris and falls, according to the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management.
The deadly weather in Oklahoma added to dozens of reports of tornadoes wreaking havoc in the center of the country since Friday. On Sunday, Iowa authorities reported the death of a man who had been injured during a tornado that hit the city of Minden on Friday.
Authorities said the tornado in Sulfur started in a city park before tore through downtown, overturning cars and ripping roofs and walls off brick buildings. Windows and doors burst.
“How is it rebuilt? This is total devastation,” Sulfur resident Kelly Trussell said as she surveyed the damage. “It’s crazy, you want to help, but where do you start?”.
Carolyn Goodman traveled to Sulfur from the nearby town of Ada in search of her former sister-in-law, who Goodman said was at a local bar just before the tornado hit the area. Stitt said one of the victims was found inside a bar, but authorities have not yet identified the deceased.
“The bar was destroyed,” Goodman said. “I know they probably won’t find her alive… but I hope she’s still alive”.
Farther north, a tornado near the town of Holdenville killed two people and damaged or destroyed more than a dozen homes, according to Hughes County Emergency Medical Services. Another person died on Interstate 35 near the southern Oklahoma city of Marietta, state officials said.
The heavy rains that devastated Oklahoma along with tornadoes also caused dangerous flooding that forced rescues. Just outside Sulphur, rising lake levels forced the closure of the Chickasaw National Recreation Areawhere storms washed away a pedestrian bridge.
Stitt on Sunday issued an executive order declaring a state of emergency in 12 counties due to the consequences of the severe weather.
Residents of other states were also recovering from the disaster. A tornado in a suburb of Omaha, Nebraska, destroyed homes and businesses Saturday, destroying first agricultural crops, then suburbs and then an Iowa town.
Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen and Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds spent Saturday touring damaged areas and organizing assistance for affected communities. Formal damage assessments are still underway, but states plan to seek federal help.
(With information from AP)
