OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Severe storms and tornadoes ripped through Oklahoma early Sunday, throwing cars, tearing roofs off buildings and knocking out power to tens of thousands of homes and businesses in the middle of the night. Officials said 11 of the many injured required hospitalization.
Most of the damage was reported in and around the state capital, Oklahoma City, near the center of the state, but it was also scattered elsewhere in the state. The early morning storm triggered a tornado warning that extended south to the Arkansas state line. Heavy rains caused flash flooding in some areas, and one house fire caused by lightning was reported.
More than 99,000 homes and businesses in Oklahoma lost power during the overnight storm. By late Sunday afternoon, that number had fallen to about 24,000. No deaths were reported.
Richard Thompson, chief forecaster for the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center in Oklahoma, said he believes more than six tornadoes struck the state overnight. Meanwhile, forecasters warned state residents to prepare for the possibility of more heavy rain and severe weather into Monday.
“It’s not over yet,” he said.
A tornado watch was in place for much of central and southeastern Oklahoma until 8 p.m. Sunday. Other areas were under warning for thunderstorms and flooding.
Firefighters and police officers went door-to-door Sunday morning in the Choctaw town east of Oklahoma City, asking if anyone was injured.
“The Choctaw neighborhood was completely destroyed,” the town’s mayor, Chad Allcox, told The Associated Press. He added that the debris hampered search and rescue operations. “Power lines are down everywhere and many roads are closed and difficult to pass. There are very large trees blocking the roads.”
Oklahoma City Fire Department spokesman Scott Douglas told the AP that early search and rescue efforts were complicated by heavy rain and the threat of a lingering tornado in the early morning darkness. He said they first cleared the hardest-hit areas around 1:30 a.m.
“It was a heavy rain. “We were trying to clear the area with another possibility of a tornado in mind, so that was in the back of our minds as well,” he said.
Douglas said emergency workers had to extricate two people from an overturned mobile home, including a woman who was injured when an air conditioner fell on her foot.
As the sun set, the scale of the damage became clear. Local television footage showed downed power lines, peeling walls of homes, overturned vehicles and nearby roads strewn with debris.
Douglas said 11 people were injured and taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. “There were several other minor injuries, some were injured while walking and were expected to receive treatment on their own,” Douglas said.
Allcox said early weather warnings and tornado sirens likely saved lives.
The Oklahoma State Emergency Management Agency said several shelters were available for evacuees and residents without electricity, including one set up by the American Red Cross inside the casino.
Southern Oklahoma Heart Hospital was also damaged, state health officials said.
At the University of Oklahoma, school officials urged students and staff to seek shelter on the lowest floors as the storm approached the campus just after midnight. The National Weather Service office in Norman also issued an emergency warning, posting on social media: “If you are in the path of this storm, evacuate immediately!”
Parts of Oklahoma are at risk of more heavy rain and thunderstorms late Sunday.
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Associated Press writers Kevin McGill in New Orleans and Jackie Quinn in Washington contributed.
