| http://cnn.com/video/?/video/us/2010/05/10/okahoma.tornado.kwtv CNN article Tornado-ravaged Oklahoma may face more storms By the CNN Wire Staff STORY HIGHLIGHTS Rescuers working 30-square-mile area to search for victims, clear away power lines Storm destroyed at least 40 homes and damaged at least 108 more Truck stop east of Oklahoma City destroyed by direct hit from tornado More than 65,000 homes, businesses without power throughout the state (CNN) -- Forecasters warned that another round of severe weather may hit Oklahoma on Tuesday, less than 24 hours after a storm system spawned multiple tornadoes and left five people dead. People in northern, western and southern Oklahoma should prepare for severe storms Tuesday afternoon and early evening, the National Weather Service said. Meanwhile, rescuers combed through areas hardest hit when tornadoes tore across Oklahoma on Monday, killing at least five people and seriously or critically injuring at least 10 others. Officials said they planned to release more detailed damage estimates Tuesday -- and decide how to manage cleanup efforts in areas where tornadoes left behind snapped utility poles, downed trees and severely damaged homes. "Until daylight returns, most of those neighborhoods are going to be locked down. ... No one's going to be allowed to enter into there, including the owners of the homes. That's for their own safety," Oklahoma City Police Chief William City told reporters Monday night. "We'll re-evaluate that in the morning and determine exactly when and where we can allow people to go back into their homes." Rescuers were searching a 30-square-mile area Monday night to look for victims and clear away downed power lines and other hazards, Oklahoma City Fire Chief Keith Bryant said. "This was a significant storm and a deadly storm," Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett said. Are you there? Send images, video Three people died in Cleveland County, just west of Tecumseh, said Albert Ashwood, director of Oklahoma Emergency Management. Two others were reported dead in Oklahoma County, the agency said. At least 10 patients in hospitals around the state were in critical or serious condition after injuries suffered in the storm, the emergency management department said, and at least 47 others were treated for noncritical injuries. The storm destroyed at least 40 homes and damaged 108 more, the emergency management department said. Video out of Norman, south of Oklahoma City, showed mobile homes blown to pieces in one neighborhood, where debris littered yards and streets alongside large trees ripped straight from the ground. A truck stop east of Oklahoma City was demolished, taking a direct hit from one of the tornadoes, according to a spokeswoman for Love's Travel Stops and Country Stores. Motorists pulled off Interstate 40 and sought shelter in the truck stop's large coolers and restrooms before the tornado tore the roof off the building, blew out car windows and overturned tractor-trailers, spokeswoman Christina Dukeman said. Love's employee Charlescie Greenway said she and two other women made it to one cooler before the twister hit. "The three of us were kind of trapped in there, holding the door shut, praying to God that we don't die and that everybody else was safe," Greenway told CNN affiliate KWTV, adding, "it was really scary -- the wind was like trying to pull the door off the latch." Cornett said quick thinking by the truck stop's employees saved people inside. "They were all huddled into a cooler and all walked out alive," he said. Sammy Ward and his partner rode the twister out in their truck in the parking lot. "It started hailing and then it quit hailing and then all of a sudden the wind hit and it just went dark and here went everything," Ward told KWTV. "Trucks went to rocking ... and next thing we know the whole roof and everything was gone." The American Red Cross had opened at least three shelters Monday night and continued to assess needs across the state. More than 65,000 homes and businesses were without power throughout the state, emergency management officials said. Nearly 15,000 homes were without power in Norman alone, according to Oklahoma Gas & Electric. The Lake Draper Water Treatment Plant, which provides about half of Oklahoma City's water, was also without power Monday night, City Manager Jim Couch said. Because of the outage, city officials placed a ban on outside watering for 48 hours, he said. "It's unknown when that power will be restored," he said. "Major transmission lines in the area have been damaged." Find this article at: http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/weather/05/11/severe.storms/index.html?hpt=T1 |