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Tornado Kills One in Southern Oklahoma Tornadoes Tear Through Oklahoma and Texas, Killing One
(about 1 hour later)
A powerful tornado struck southern Oklahoma on Wednesday evening, damaging two factories, flipping cars and killing at least one person, according to the authorities. A series of powerful tornadoes ripped through Oklahoma and Texas on Wednesday evening, destroying homes, flipping cars and killing at least one person, according to the authorities.
The tornado cut through Marshall County, Okla., around 5 p.m., striking the factories, J & I Manufacturing, which makes truck beds and bodies, and Oklahoma Steel & Wire, said Robert Chaney, the county’s emergency management director. In Marshall County, Okla., one person was killed when a violent tornado landed at around 5 p.m., said Robert Chaney, the county’s emergency management director.
A number of cars that were hit were “balled up from the force of the tornado,” Mr. Chaney said, and one was “up in a tree.” The person was found on a roadside not far from J & I Manufacturing, which makes truck beds and bodies, and was one two factories that were struck and damaged, he said. The other was Oklahoma Steel & Wire.
He said the person who was killed was found on the side of a road about one-quarter mile from J & I Manufacturing. Mr. Chaney said he was not sure how many people had been injured. The winds were so strong, Mr. Chaney said, that a number of cars were “balled up from the force of the tornado,” and one was “up in a tree.”
The authorities, he said, had set up a command center in a Walmart parking lot in Madill, Okla., but rescue vehicles were being blocked by fallen power lines on the main roads. At the Holy Cross Catholic Church in Madill, Okla., which was dedicated last year, the pastor was in a safe room built into the new rectory when the tornado hit, according to Diane Clay, a spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City. He was unharmed, she said, but reported that only one corner of the rectory was still standing and that the church had sustained damage to its south side and most of its windows.
He said the factories that had been hit were open on Wednesday, despite the coronavirus pandemic that has closed businesses across the country. He added that most businesses in the county were operating normally. “Because of downed power lines and a gas leak, we can’t get close enough to see the damage tonight,” Ms. Clay said.
“Everybody is taking the basic precautions that we can,” Mr. Chaney said. “But basically everybody is working.” Mr. Chaney said he was not sure how many people in Marshall County had been injured. The authorities, he said, had set up a command center in a Walmart parking lot in Madill and were beginning to conduct search-and-rescue operations.
The tornado was one of several produced by strong storms that moved through the region on Wednesday, setting off warnings across parts of Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas, according to the National Weather Service. Mr. Chaney said that, despite the coronavirus pandemic that has closed businesses across the country, most businesses and factories in Madill were open on Wednesday when the tornado struck.
“Everybody is taking the basic precautions that we can,” he said. “But basically everybody is working.”
About 15 minutes before Marshall County was hit, another tornado landed in Garvin County, Okla., about 80 miles to the north, and raked across the ground for about a mile, said David Johnson, the county’s emergency management director. Three houses as well as four or five barns, shops and outbuildings were damaged, he said, but no one was injured or killed.About 15 minutes before Marshall County was hit, another tornado landed in Garvin County, Okla., about 80 miles to the north, and raked across the ground for about a mile, said David Johnson, the county’s emergency management director. Three houses as well as four or five barns, shops and outbuildings were damaged, he said, but no one was injured or killed.
The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management said the tornado had damaged at least 12 homes, businesses and power lines in Marshall County. More than 7,000 people statewide had lost power, the department said.
The tornadoes were produced by intense storms that moved through the region on Wednesday, setting off warnings across parts of Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas, according to the National Weather Service.
In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott said there were reports of widespread damage from severe weather, including a tornado that landed in several communities in Polk County.
“My office, the Texas Division of Emergency Management and other state agencies are working with local officials to provide immediate support to the areas devastated by this tornado,” Mr. Abbott said. “The state has already deployed response teams and medical resources to help Texans in need and to provide assistance to these communities.”
In Onalaska, Texas, officials opened the Onalaska Junior and Senior High Schools to serve as shelters but then urged residents to head to Dunbar Gym in Livingston, Texas, after the schools lost power.
B. Milton Choate, the mayor of Onalaska, about 90 miles north of Houston, said that a “significant number” of houses in the town had been damaged or destroyed. He said he was not certain how many people had been injured but noted that “lots of people have been transported to the hospital.”