Devastating tornado outbreak leaves 5 dead, dozens injured in Oklahoma and surrounding areas
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by Balikbayan Store
2 min reading time
An unprecedented number of tornadoes have wreaked havoc across parts of Oklahoma and nearby Great Plains states, resulting in at least five fatalities, according to authorities and local media reports on Sunday.
The National Weather Service (NWS) disclosed that after 78 tornadoes were documented on Friday, primarily in Nebraska and Iowa, a separate weather system on Saturday brought 35 tornado reports from northern Texas and Oklahoma to Missouri.
Within a matter of hours, the storms deluged some areas with up to seven inches of rain, prompting meteorologists to issue warnings of ongoing perilous conditions on Sunday, including flash flooding, hail, and additional tornadoes.
Sulphur, situated in south-central Oklahoma, bore the brunt of the devastation late Saturday, with numerous videos and images circulating on social media depicting extensive damage to buildings. Among the wreckage, a postal truck was seen teetering atop debris, while rescue teams combed through the area in search of survivors.
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, speaking from Sulphur, revealed that four fatalities had been confirmed across the state. He described the damage in Sulphur as the most severe he had witnessed during his tenure, emphasizing the destruction of numerous downtown businesses.
Reports from the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management (OEM) indicated that at least two individuals lost their lives in Holdenville, with local media identifying a four-month-old baby among the victims. Additionally, a fourth fatality occurred on a highway in Marietta, where images broadcast by local media showed mangled vehicles and overturned semi-trucks.
Preliminary investigations by the National Weather Service revealed that tornadoes in Sulphur and Marietta were classified as at least EF-3 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, signifying wind speeds exceeding 136 miles (218 kilometers) per hour.
Governor Stitt has declared a 30-day state of emergency to facilitate aid to 12 of the worst-affected counties and is coordinating with federal authorities for assistance.
Tragically, a man in Iowa who sustained injuries in a tornado on Friday succumbed to his injuries in the hospital, as reported by his family to local outlet KETV NewsWatch 7.
As of Sunday afternoon, poweroutage.us reported that over 25,000 homes in Texas and more than 19,000 in Oklahoma were without electricity.
While the region is accustomed to spring tornadoes, meteorologists highlighted the rarity of experiencing separate major outbreaks on consecutive days.
