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Two people, including a child, have died in Oklahoma after severe flooding swept through the state over the weekend, as meteorologists warned of more flooding, thunderstorms and tornadoes expected to impact the Midwest and South in the coming days, The Associated Press reported on Sunday.
Police in Moore, located about 10 miles south of Oklahoma City, reported multiple “high-water incidents” over the weekend, with emergency crews responding to numerous calls. On Saturday evening, two cars were stranded in rising floodwaters, the report said, adding that one vehicle was swept away under a bridge, leading to the tragic deaths of a woman and a 12-year-old boy. Authorities were able to rescue some people from the floodwaters, but the two victims were later found dead.
“This was a historical weather event that impacted roads and resulted in dozens of high-water incidents across the city,” Moore police said in a statement on Sunday, according to AP. Moore, which has a population of around 63,000, has faced significant disruption as a result of the flooding.
As the storm system continues to move eastward, the National Weather Service (NWS) issued a range of flooding and severe thunderstorm warnings throughout much of Oklahoma and into parts of Texas, Missouri, Arkansas, and southern Illinois, the report further said. Meteorologists also predicted heavy rainfall and potential tornado activity in Arkansas and Missouri.
By Sunday morning, several communities were beginning to assess the damage caused by several confirmed tornadoes that touched down in south-central and southeast Oklahoma. According to the report, a few thousand residents were still without power due to downed power lines and infrastructure damage.
In Marshall County, emergency management director Bill Macon described how a tornado “skipped and jumped around” a path of six to seven miles in a rural area, causing severe damage. At least 20 homes were damaged, the report said, some of which were completely destroyed.
“We take those things pretty seriously down here in Oklahoma,” Macon reportedly said, referring to the warnings issued by the National Weather Service. “It’s always a very tense situation when a tornado hits, especially at night.”
In Ada, Oklahoma, a town of approximately 16,000 people, another tornado struck late Saturday, according to the report. Ada had only recently started recovering from the devastation of a previous tornado in early March.
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