4 people killed due to tornado in Oklahoma, emergency continues due to fear of more storms

At least four people, including an infant, have been killed and more than 100 others injured after a devastating tornado struck the US state of Oklahoma, leaving thousands of residents without power.

Sulphur, a rural town of about 5,000 people, saw most of the damage, with buildings completely destroyed, cars overturned and roofs blown off homes, the Associated Press reported.

“You can’t believe the destruction,” Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt said during a tour of the hard-hit city.

“It seems like every business in town has been destroyed.”

On Sunday, the governor also announced that the State Emergency Operations Center had been activated for severe weather across Oklahoma.

Of the four deaths, two occurred in Holdenville and one near Marietta, CNN reported, citing an official with the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security.

Governor Stitt confirmed that a fourth death had been reported in the city of Sulphur, and said that 30 people were also injured.

Tornadoes of at least EF-3 strength touched down in Sulfur and Marietta Saturday night, according to the National Weather Service.

The EF-3 rating indicates wind speeds of 218 km per hour or more.

The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management does not yet know the extent of total damage in the state.

Meanwhile, people in several cities in Texas, including Dallas and Austin; Oklahoma City and Tulsa in Oklahoma; Wichita and Topeka in Kansas; and the Kansas City metropolitan area; According to CNN reports, there was a threat of a strong tornado.

More than 4 million people were under tornado watch Sunday night (local US time).

parts of eastern Texas and northern Louisiana; Far western Mississippi; Western Arkansas; far eastern Oklahoma; And southwestern Missouri could also be affected by severe storms.

On Friday, multiple tornadoes were reported in at least five US states, with the most destructive storm moving from rural areas to the suburbs of Omaha, a city in Nebraska, population 485,000.

Forecasters had issued tornado warnings for Saturday for several states, including Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas, as well as warning of possible large hail and high winds.