Asia-Pacific

5 dead as tornadoes hit central US

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-05-11 22:37

Damage from a tornado is seen at Love's Truck Stop in Choctaw, Okla. on Monday, May 10, 2010. [Agencies]

NORMAN, Oklahoma - Violent storms that tore through the central US killed five people and injured dozens more, leaving behind flattened homes, toppled semitrailers and downed power lines.

Several tornadoes were reported in Oklahoma and Kansas on Monday as the storms moved through the area, dumping hail as big as baseballs, splintering mobile homes and leaving thousands of people without power.

Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management spokesman Jerry Lojka said two people were killed in Oklahoma City and three were killed in Cleveland County, south of the city.

Oklahoma City officials said the fatalities there involved a young boy who was hit by debris in his home and a man whose recreational vehicle flipped over on top of him. Details on the Cleveland County deaths weren't immediately available.

Officials reported that at least 58 others were injured, two of them critically, in a tornado outbreak that forecasters had been predicting since last week.

Emergency authorities in Oklahoma City urged residents to stay off the roads in affected areas Tuesday to allow rescue workers to search for survivors among the wreckage of their homes.

Oklahoma City Deputy Fire Chief Cecil Clay refused to rule out the possibility of finding more dead, but said conditions were tough for rescue workers early Tuesday.

"We have heavy fog (and) power lines down making it difficult to see all the hazards out there. We'll wait for more sunshine to resume our search."

Gov. Brad Henry said he would tour affected areas Tuesday.

The weather was expected to be more settled the day after the storm, said meteorologist Ty Judd with the National Weather Service in Norman.