Tornadoes killed at least four people in Sulphur, Oklahoma, and left thousands without power Sunday after a destructive outbreak of severe weather flattened buildings in the heart of one rural town and injured dozens of people.
Nearly 30,000 people remained without electricity after tornadoes began late Saturday night. The destruction was extensive in Sulphur, a town of about 5,000 people, where many downtown buildings were reduced to rubble and roofs were sheared off houses across a 15-block radius.
Dozens of reported tornadoes have wreaked havoc in the nation’s midsection since Friday, with flood watches and warnings in effect Sunday for Oklahoma and other states — including Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas and Texas.
Also in Oklahoma, a tornado ripped through Holdenville, a town of about 5,000 people, late Saturday, killing two people, and injuring four others.
Another person was killed along Interstate 35 near the southern Oklahoma city of Marietta, according to the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management. A hospital was damaged in the town and authorities closed an interstate at the state line with Texas due to overturned vehicles and downed power lines.
