At least one person in Oklahoma has died as a result of a tornado that ripped through small towns, as severe storms moved from the South and into central areas, causing devastation and disruption to for millions.
Osage County Sheriff Eddie Virden told NBC News that the unidentified person died as a result of a tornado in Barnsdall, a city of about 1,000 people some 40 miles north of Tulsa, amid some of the storm’s worst devastation, on Monday night.
Virden said it was too early to say how many others may have been injured but said his deputies had carried out multiple rescues. “There’s areas, residences that [have] been completely destroyed. We did several rescues of people trapped in debris,” he said.
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said on X that it had established a meeting point in the town for anyone searching for loved ones.
Bartlesville, 20 miles to the north-east, was similarly affected. A hotel in the town was severely damaged, as shown in social media posts uploaded by witnesses — firefighters were called to rescue some people trapped inside.
Bartlesville’s city’s government said there had been significant damage across Bartlesville, with some power lines down, but only minor injuries reported so far. Residents were urged to stay inside and stay off the roads.
The National Weather Service issued a rare tornado emergency statement for Osage on Monday. “A large, extremely dangerous and potentially deadly tornado is on the ground,” it said. The tornado watch was extended until 5 a.m. Tuesday.
Osage Nation Emergency Management and local police said on Facebook it had joined “numerous agencies for search and rescue through the Osage Nation Reservation.”
“Our community is strong and eager to help those in need,” it said.
Across Oklahoma, more than 25,000 energy customers were without power as of 5 a.m. local time Tuesday, according to the website PowerOutage.us, while 18,000 were without power in Missouri and almost 10,000 in Arkansas.
The National Weather Service said the severe weather — which has affected parts of the country for more than five weeks — will continue at least into Wednesday as an area of low pressure develops over the Great Lakes.
A tornado also swept through Smithville, Tennessee, bringing down trees and damaging houses, as seen in footage uploaded to social media.
