OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) – A storm system produced at least three tornadoes in Arkansas and Oklahoma on Wednesday, killing one person and injuring several others, officials said.
A tornado moving through the Tulsa suburb of Sand Springs damaged as many as 60 buildings, a spokesman for the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office said.
Rain, lightning and winds were hampering rescue efforts, said the spokesman, Major Shannon Clark.
« Conditions are deplorable, » he said.
Mobile homes were tipped over, and the tornado left large parts of the area without power, officials said.
The Sand Springs tornado heavily damaged a gymnastics studio that had about 60 people inside, according to local fire department officials. No injuries from the studio were reported, the Sheriff’s office said.
Photographs posted online showed the gymnastic studio’s roof had collapsed.
A tornado was spotted as well in Moore, Oklahoma, where police said multiple buildings were damaged and numerous cars and trucks overturned.
The Oklahoma City suburb was hit by a tornado in 2013 that killed 24 and injured more than 300.
A third tornado was reported in northwest Arkansas.
(Reporting by Ellen Wulfhorst in New York, Jon Herskovitz in Austin, Texas, and Heide Brandes in Oklahoma City; Editing by Eric Beech and Peter Cooney)