One person was killed and others injured after a possible tornado struck the Oklahoma town of Cole and other areas, authorities said.
Residents of the town of about 620 were told to take shelter immediately Wednesday night, and the McClain County emergency management agency said at 7:39 p.m. that a dangerous tornado was overhead. city.
“Unfortunately, the updated news is that we have a confirmed fatalityMcClain County Sheriff’s Deputy Scott Gibbons told reporters. «It’s reasonable to expect possibly more, based on the damage we’ve seen so far.»
Video from a helicopter from NBC affiliate KFOR of Oklahoma City showed destroyed homes in and around Cole, which is about 25 miles south of Oklahoma City.
Oklahoma Highway Patrol Officer Eric Foster told reporters that Cole sustained significant damage and trees and power lines were down.
He said the rural nature of the community and state, as well as the damage, means searchers need time to verify damaged properties and storm shelters.
“We have to park and walk miles to get to a lot of these places, so it’s going to take us time to find that,” Foster said. “We know that there are injuries. We know there is significant property damage.»
In Norman, which is east of Cole, the University of Oklahoma told everyone on its campus to immediately seek shelter and stay away from windows as dangerous storms approached. The threat of tornadoes passed later.
In Pottawatomie County, the weather service warned of a storm with a tornado approaching Shawnee, a city of about 30,000 people. It was not immediately clear if there were any injuries.
The extent of the damage was also not immediately clear. Images broadcast by KFOR showed downed power lines and damaged commercial signs in the city.
Pottawatomie County Emergency Management said in Facebook posts that roads and streets were blocked by debris or power lines — «too many to list.» He urged people to stay home so first responders could do their job.
The weather service had forecast Wednesday the possibility of severe thunderstorms, as well as tornadoes, across parts of the Great Plains due to a cold front.