Oklahoma City: Reports emerged overnight of a series of tornadoes descending upon Oklahoma, claiming at least one life and leaving five injured in their wake. These devastating twisters flattened homes, uprooted trees, and caused widespread destruction in the northeastern part of the state.
As dawn broke over the affected area, fire crews worked tirelessly to assess the damage and rescue residents in Barnsdall and Bartlesville, two rural towns situated just north of Tulsa, which bore the brunt of the tornado onslaught, according to local news sources.
The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management reported that approximately 40 homes suffered damage or were entirely destroyed in Barnsdall. Additionally, a natural gas leak was reported, adding to the chaos in the community of 1,000 people, where tragically one person lost their life, as confirmed by KOCO News.
In Bartlesville, a town with a population of 30,000, five individuals were reported injured, as per the ABC affiliate in Oklahoma City.
Videos circulated on both local media and social platforms depicted the harrowing scenes of destruction, with houses reduced to rubble, power lines strewn across roads, and debris scattered in all directions. Poweroutage.us reported that around 16,000 homes and businesses were left without electricity in Oklahoma as a result of the storms.
The National Weather Service received reports from storm spotters indicating that 17 tornadoes had touched down in the Plains region overnight, with eight sightings in Missouri alone. However, the NWS has yet to confirm whether all the damage and casualties were directly caused by tornadoes.
As the dangerous weather persisted, the NWS issued a tornado watch for the region, covering approximately two million people, extending the alert into Tuesday as the threat remained imminent.
