SULFUR, Okla. (AP) – A tornado killed at least four people in Oklahoma on Sunday, after a devastating outbreak of severe weather destroyed a building in the center of a rural town and injured dozens. Thousands lost power.
About 30,000 people remained without power after the tornado struck late Saturday night. Destruction was widespread in Sulphur, a town of about 5,000 people, with many downtown buildings reduced to rubble and roofs cut off from homes in a 15-block radius.
“The destruction is unbelievable,” Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt said during a visit to a hard-hit town. “It seems like every business downtown has been destroyed.”
Stitt said about 30 people were injured in Sulphur alone. Dozens of tornadoes have been reported, causing extensive damage. Central part of the country since FridayFlood watches and warnings are in effect for Oklahoma and other states Sunday, including Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas and Texas.
Officials said the sulfur tornado started in a city park and then tore through downtown, overturning cars and ripping off the roofs and walls of brick buildings. The windows and doors of the building were blown out.
One of the victims was found at a bar in Sulfur, where about 20 people were taking shelter when the storm hit, Stitt said. The injured were taken to a hospital and released.
Carolyn Goodman came to Sulfur from the nearby town of Ada to look for her former sister-in-law. Goodman said her sister-in-law was at a local bar just before the tornado hit the area.
“The bar was destroyed,” Goodman said. “She knows she probably won’t find her alive…but she hopes she’s still alive.”
In Oklahoma, a tornado struck Holdenville, a town of about 5,000 people, late Saturday, killing two people and injuring four others, Hughes County Emergency Medical Services said. Another person was killed along Interstate 35 near Marietta in southern Oklahoma, according to the Oklahoma State Emergency Management Agency. The town’s hospital was damaged and authorities closed the interstate on the Texas border due to overturned vehicles and downed power lines.
In Holdenville, an area about 80 miles (130 kilometers) from Oklahoma City, homes were demolished and street signs bent to the ground. As workers began to tackle the damage, the sound of chainsaws could be heard in the distance.
A man is struck by a tornado after severe storms hit the night before in Sulfur, Oklahoma, on Sunday, April 28, 2024. (Brian Terry/The Oklahoman, Associated Press)
Gov. Stitt on Sunday issued an executive order declaring a state of emergency in 12 counties due to severe weather as crews work to remove debris and assess damage caused by severe storms that downed power lines. did.
Oklahoma said about 30,000 customers were without power as of midday Sunday. power outage.us, track power company outages. Approximately 52,000 customers were without power in Texas.
Families were evacuated from the storm at the Sulfur High School gymnasium late Saturday as a tornado tore through the area. Jacalyn Wright took shelter with her family in the school gymnasium, where she said she heard what sounded like a helicopter as the tornado touched down. Chad Smith, 43, said people were rushing into the gym as the wind picked up, the rain came faster and doors slammed shut. “Give me a beer and a lawn chair and I’ll sit outside and watch,” Smith said. Instead, he went into hiding.
Residents of other states were also digging out there. storm damage.suburban tornado Omaha, Nebraska; On Saturday, it traveled several miles through farmland and into subdivisions, destroying homes and businesses and hitting an Iowa town.
Tornado damage began Friday afternoon near Lincoln, Nebraska. An industrial building in Lancaster County was hit and collapsed with 70 people inside. Several people were trapped, but all were evacuated and three people were injured with non-life-threatening injuries, authorities said.
A partially torn roof is seen on a damaged house in Omaha, Nebraska, Saturday, April 27, 2024. On Friday, dozens of tornadoes were reported across the Midwest, causing extensive damage. (Chris McKean/Omaha World-Herald, via AP)
Chris Franks, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Omaha office, said one or perhaps two tornadoes then traveled toward Omaha over the course of about an hour, bringing winds of 135 to 165 mph (217 to 265 kph). It is said to have caused damage comparable to that of the EF3 twister. .
Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds toured the damage Saturday and arranged aid for affected communities. Formal damage assessments are still underway, but states plan to ask the federal government for assistance.
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Associated Press writers Acacia Coronado in Austin, Texas, and Sophia Tareen in Chicago contributed to this report.
