Severe storms hit Oklahoma, causing injuries and leaving thousands without power : NPR

OKLAHOMA CITY — Severe storms and tornadoes battered Oklahoma early Sunday, tossing cars and ripping roofs off buildings in the middle of the night and leaving about 86,000 homes and businesses without power. At least six people were injured, authorities said.

The scale of the damage came into clearer focus as daylight broke following the powerful overnight storms that marched through Oklahoma City, the state capital, and set off tornado warnings that extended toward the Arkansas border. Local television footage showed downed power lines, walls peeled off homes, overturned vehicles and neighborhood streets littered with debris.

At least six people were transported to hospitals with injuries that were not life-threatening, Oklahoma City Police Department Capt. Valerie Littlejohn said.

In the small town of Choctaw, just outside Oklahoma City, authorities said a tornado hit one neighborhood shortly after midnight. Firefighters and police officers went door to door to ask about injuries and officials opened an elementary gym as a shelter, according to the Choctaw Police Department.

“There is significant damage to homes in the area,” the department posted on Facebook.

There was also flooding in some areas and one house caught fire after being struck by lightning.

A handful of shelters — including one opened at a casino by the American Red Cross — are available for displaced residents or those without power, the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management said.

Flooding caused by heavy rainfall occurred in some areas, and one house caught fire after being struck by lightning, the department said.

The Oklahoma Heart Hospital South also sustained damage, state health officials said.

The Oklahoma Fire Department said in a Facebook post early Saturday that crews had rescued two people trapped in an overturned mobile home.

At the University of Oklahoma, school officials had urged students and staff to seek shelter and move to the lowest floor as the storms approached campus after midnight. The National Weather Service office in Norman also issued urgent warnings, posting on social media that “If you’re in the path of this storm, take cover immediately!”

Parts of Oklahoma remained under risk for more heavy rainfall and thunderstorms later Sunday.