The Latest: Oklahoma tornado kills 2 and injures at least 29
EL RENO, Okla. (AP) — The Latest on tornadoes that touched down in Oklahoma (all times local):
1:45 p.m.
The National Weather Service says a tornado touched down in the Tulsa area early Sunday, damaging structures, uprooting trees and toppling power lines.
Pete Snyder with the weather service said Sunday that officials had confirmed that a tornado caused damage in the Tulsa suburb of Sapulpa and surrounding areas.
Snyder says crews are assessing the damage to determine the tornado’s strength. He says the area also experienced damage from straight-line winds that officials say exceeded 80 mph (129 kilometers per hour).
The tornado was spawned by a powerful storm system that rolled through the state and occurred not long after another tornado killed two people and injured 29 others in El Reno, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of Oklahoma City.
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12:30 p.m.
An apparent tornado has downed trees and power lines and heavily damaged some businesses in a suburb of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The apparent twister struck Sapulpa early Sunday morning, not long after another tornado killed two people and injured 29 others in El Reno, a city 110 miles southwest of Sapulpa and about 25 miles west of Oklahoma City.
The Sapulpa Police Department said on its Facebook page that it hadn’t heard of anyone being killed there and that only a few people had reported minor injuries. Damage was also reported in other area communities.
Many roads were closed, including parts of the Creek Turnpike, where the Oklahoma Highway Patrol says power lines came down across the roadway.
Raymond Beck, who owns a memorabilia shop in Sapulpa, told the Tulsa World he was in his store when the storm hit.
He says, “Stuff was flying everywhere. It sounded like a real high-pitched whistle to me. I knew I had to get away from the windows.”
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9:30 a.m.
Authorities say two people were killed and more than two dozen were injured when a tornado destroyed a motel and swept through a nearby mobile home park west of Oklahoma City.
El Reno Mayor Matt White said at a Sunday news conference that 29 people were taken to hospitals with injuries ranging from minor to critical.
Rick Smith, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Norman, says the twister hit El Reno, which is about 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of Oklahoma City, late Saturday night as a powerful storm system rolled through the state.
White says authorities have accounted for everyone at the motel but are still searching the mobile home park. He says there’s about a 2-mile (3.2-kilometer) path of damage and that, “People have absolutely lost everything.”
The weather service gave the twister a preliminary rating of EF-2, which would mean it had wind speeds of 111-135 mph (179-217 kph).
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7:10 a.m.
Officials say two people have died after a likely tornado destroyed a motel and swept through a nearby mobile home park in the Oklahoma City area.
El Reno Mayor Matt White said during a news conference Sunday that “there have been two fatalities at this point in time.” He said officials are working to notify relatives.
White said search and rescue efforts are continuing.
The National Weather Service says a likely tornado caused damage. Meteorologist Rick Smith in Norman says the suspected twister hit El Reno on Saturday night as a powerful storm system rolled through the state. Smith says crews will assess the damage on Sunday to determine the severity.
The American Budget Value Inn was destroyed by the storm. Trailers at the Skyview Estates mobile home park adjacent to the motel also were damaged.
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12:58 a.m.
The National Weather Service says a likely tornado has destroyed a motel and caused other damage in the Oklahoma City area.
Meteorologist Rick Smith in Norman says the suspected twister hit El Reno on Saturday night as a powerful storm system rolled through the state. Smith says crews will assess the damage on Sunday to determine the severity.
The American Budget Value Inn was destroyed by the storm. Video at the scene showed emergency crews sifting through the rubble after part of the motel’s second story collapsed. Trailers at a mobile home park adjacent to the motel were also damaged.
There were no immediate reports of injuries.
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