Tornadoes hit Oklahoma again; now floodwaters threaten
A tornado emergency warning has been lifted for the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, but the region braced for flooding brought on by pounding rain.
At least two deaths have been reported. Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Betsy Randolph told the Associated Press that troopers found the bodies of a woman and an infant near their vehicle.
Multiple twisters touched down in the area around Oklahoma City, according to the National Weather Service. Though the tornado warning has expired, a flash-flood warning remained in effect Friday night because of rising waters caused by heavy rainfall.
Flooding and downed power lines led state police and transportation officials to issue advisories against all travel in the metropolitan area. More than 50,000 people were without power Friday night.
As the storm struck Friday evening, traffic came to a standstill on freeways during rush hour, with video footage showing vehicles bumper to bumper on Interstate 35 near Oklahoma City. Newcasters described the scene as a virtual parking lot.
“Our big concern is that we’ve got to get people off the highways,” Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin said on CNN.
Overturned vehicles and injuries were reported on Interstate 40, though the extent of the damage was unclear.
The National Weather Service issued the tornado emergency warning for Oklahoma’s capital city and surrounding areas around 6:25 p.m. The warning also applied to Moore, the Oklahoma City suburb still recovering from a devastating tornado on May 20 that killed 24 people. On Friday morning, the agency forecast “tornadoes, large hail and damaging winds from central Oklahome to parts of the Ozarks Friday evening.”
At Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City, flights were canceled and passengers were sent into underground tunnels.
“We are heartsick about it,” Fallin said of the latest storm. “We hope that this storm passes through.”
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