Multiple tornadoes batter Texas and Oklahoma, at least two dead, dozens injured
- A storm stretching from Dallas to northwest Arkansas spawned tornadoes and produced flash flooding, causing injury and severe damage to homes
- The Oklahoma Highway Patrol reported a 6-year-old girl had drowned and a 43-year-old man was missing after their vehicle was swept by water off a bridge
Residents in southeastern Oklahoma and northeastern Texas began assessing weather damage on Saturday, working to recover and thankful to have survived after a storm stretching from Dallas to northwest Arkansas spawned tornadoes and produced flash flooding, killing at least two people, injuring others and leaving homes and buildings in ruins.
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt visited the town of Idabel to see the damage. He said on social media that all the homes had been searched and a 90-year-old man had died.
Keli Cain, spokesperson for the state’s Department of Emergency Management, said the man’s body was found at his home in the Pickens area of McCurtain County, about 36 miles (58 kilometres) north of Idabel.
Judge Doug Reeder of Morris County, Texas, said in a social media post that one person died as a result of a tornado, offering no other details. Reeder and other county officials did not immediately return phone calls for additional comment.
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol also reported a 6-year-old girl drowned and a 43-year-old man was missing after their vehicle was swept by water off a bridge near Stilwell, about 135 miles (217 kilometres) north of Idabel. The drowning has not been officially attributed to the storm and will be investigated by the medical examiner, Cain said.
On Saturday afternoon Stitt declared a state of emergency for McCurtain County, where Idabel is located, and neighbouring Bryan, Choctaw and Leflore counties.