One dead and several injured after tornadoes rip through US states of Texas and Oklahoma
One person has died and dozens of people were injured after tornadoes tore through parts of Texas and Oklahoma on Friday, destroying homes and buildings in its path.
A church, medical centre and a school were torn apart in the small town of Idabel in Oklahoma.
“There was total destruction on the south and east sides of Idabel,” Steven Carter, an emergency management coordinator for McCurtain County, told the Texarkana Gazette.
People were reportedly still trapped late on Friday, with search-and-rescue teams with generators working into the night.
At least three other counties were also hit by storms, with flash flooding in some areas.
Tornadoes also were reported in Texas and Arkansas while a storm system was heading toward Louisiana, the National Weather Service said t
At least 50 homes were damaged or destroyed and 10 people were treated at one hospital, including two with critical injuries in authorities in Lamar County, Texas.
No deaths were immediately reported.
The Lamar County Sheriff’s Office and Emergency Management said the tornado touched down shortly after 4pm and moved north-northeast through the communities of Hopewell, Caviness, Beaver Creek and Powderly.
Randi Johnson, chief of the Powderly Volunteer Fire Department, told The Paris News newspaper that she wasn’t aware anyone had been killed but knew of injuries.
“It’s going to take a long time to get this cleaned up, but the community came together,” Johnson said. “It’s really heartbreaking to see.”
Churches opened their doors to serve as shelters for those whose homes were impacted.