At least four people were killed
and dozens more injured after multiple tornadoes wreaked havoc in the central
state of Oklahoma in the United States.
The
tornadoes caused extensive damage in the town of Sulphur, home to about 5 000
people, flattened buildings, threw vehicles into the air and ripped the roofs
from houses.
“You
just can’t believe the destruction,” Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt said
during a visit to the hard-hit town on Sunday afternoon.
“It seems like
every business downtown has been destroyed.”
A
four-month-old baby was among the dead, Hughes County Emergency Management
Director Mike Dockrey told Oklahoma television station KOCO.
Stitt
said about 30 people were injured, including some who were in a bar when the
tornado struck.
Hospitals
across the state reported about 100 injuries, including people apparently cut
or struck by debris, and more than 20,000 residents were still without
electricity on Sunday evening.
Stitt
issued an executive order declaring a state of emergency in 12 counties due to
the severe weather, while in a call with the Oklahoma governor, President Joe
Biden offered the federal government’s full support with recovery efforts, the
White House said in a statement.
The
National Weather Service (NWS) reported that 38 possible tornadoes hit the area
and that the worst of the storms rolled through Central Oklahoma on Saturday
into early Sunday morning, spreading into northwest Texas, western Missouri and
Kansas.