At least seven people were injured and authorities were evaluating the damage in northeastern Oklahoma after severe storms spawned multiple tornado touchdowns Wednesday night, authorities said.
National Weather Service meteorologist Amy Jankowski said a tornado touched down and lifted up numerous times as it swept through the northern Tulsa and Owasso areas.
The City of Tulsa said in a statement that several roads were closed and police and fire crews were canvassing the city. In one damaged area, they were searching every home, but there were no immediate reports of anyone missing, city public information officer Michelle Allen said. The Streets and Water Departments are assisting with road barricades and debris removal.
Jankowski said the weather service received reports of lofted debris, trees down and some structural damage.
Emergency Medical Services Authority, an ambulance service provider, transported seven patients, spokeswoman Kelli Bruer said. Bruet said one was in critical condition and several were in serious condition.
EMSA earlier said it had transported nine people.
Public Service Company of Oklahoma reporte nearly 5,000 customers without power in the area.
Nearly 9 million people in parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas were in an enhanced area of risk Wednesday, putting them in the bull’s-eye for some of the strongest storms, the national Storm Prediction Center said.
In Louisiana, the National Weather Service issued a flash-flood watch for northern parts of the state until 7 p.m. Thursday. Forecasters said multiple rounds of strong to severe thunderstorms were expected produce 2 to 4 inches of rain, and perhaps 6 inches in some parts of the state.
“Heavy rain from waves of storms could renew flooding over north Louisiana,” said Cynthia Palmer, a forecaster at the weather service’s office in Shreveport, Louisiana.
The ground remains saturated in that part of the state, which saw record flooding earlier in March, Palmer said.
Associated Press writers Bill Fuller in New Orleans, Jeff Martin in Atlanta and Sarah Rankin in Chicago contributed to this report.
Related:
- Road, Bridge Damage from Louisiana Flooding Pegged at $20M
- FEMA to Louisiana Flood Victims: Don’t Wait to Begin Repairs
- Louisiana Lashed by Severe Weather, Flooding
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