Tornado touches down in Oklahoma town

Power lines were downed and at least one building damaged when a tornado tore though Edmond, Oklahoma, Tuesday. There were no immediate reports of injuries but fire crews were responding to reports of people trapped in cars by downed trees and powerlines. School children were being kept in locked down schools.

The local utility said some 10,000 homes and businesses lost power during the severe storm that spawned the twister. Part of Interstate 35 was shut down as strong thunderstorms pummeled the area of central Oklahoma. Tornado sirens were activated, and television video showed the funnel cloud from the twister.



The National Weather Service had earlier issued a tornado warning for the central part of the state. Edmond is a suburb of Oklahoma City.

_©MSNBC

Second Tornado Kills 3 in Lone Grove

Three people from Lone Grove died Tuesday in a tornado that spawned from a severe string of storms that moved through the state.
The first twister touched down in Oklahoma City late Tuesday afternoon, and second was reported in Carter County around 6 p.m.

Three fatalities were reported in Lone Grove. None of the identities were released.
The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management reported 25 to 50 people were injured in the tornado.

_©News9 | Gewijzigd: 11 februari 2009, 13:03 uur, door Kikimero

Dodelijke tornado raast door Oklahoma

Zeker vijftien mensen zijn omgekomen door een tornado in de centrale Amerikaanse staat Oklahoma. De wervelstorm raasde dinsdagavond (lokale tijd) door de 4.500 inwoners tellende plaats Lone Grove en richtte grote schade aan.

Bomen zijn ontwricht, huizen beschadigd en elektriciteitskabels losgetrokken. Enkele tientallen mensen zitten zonder stroom. De zoektocht naar overlevenden is gestaakt sinds het donker is geworden. ,,Ik ben bang voor wat ik morgen bij daglicht aantref'', zei de sheriff van Lone Grove. Volgens hem zijn nog niet alle inwoners terecht.

Volgens de Nationale Weerdienst zijn de weersomstandigheden woensdagmorgen gunstig voor het ontstaan van nieuwe wervelstormen. In totaal zijn er vier geteld in Oklahoma en het naburige Texas.

_{Bron:De Pers}

At Least 9 Dead, 46 Hurt In Lone Grove EF4 Tornado

It's a scene of destruction in southern Oklahoma as people in Lone Grove woke up to extreme damage and news that at least nine people had been killed in a Tuesday night tornado. At least 46 people were hurt, too, the result of a half-mile-wide wedge tornado that touched down in Carter County at about 7:30 p.m. Eyewitness News 5 photojournalist Chris Lee was at the scene and watched the twister as it roared toward Interstate 35.



Firefighters were trying to make sure there were no additional victims, marking each damaged structure with a large, spray-painted X after searching it. Dave Smith, a paramedic who helped in the first emergency response, said much of the most severe damage appeared to center on two mobile home parks that were "pretty much wiped out."

I transported people with puncture wounds and abdominal injuries, he said. An Oklahoma Emergency Management spokeswoman said the National Guard was coming to the area to assist local authorities. Robert Heller, who saw the storm as it passed through Ardmore, said he saw flashes from electricity poles that were knocked down by the storm, followed by huge flashes of lightning.

I actually pulled off the interstate and into the parking lot and just watched it. It was the first tornado I've ever seen. It was huge, Heller said. There were unconfirmed reports the death toll was higher, but Robert Deaton, interim chief investigator for state Medical Examiner's office, said Tuesday morning that there were eight confirmed dead -- seven from Lone Grove, and a truck driver from Jones, Okla., who was driving through the area at the time of the tornado.



UPS Building Hit?
Emergency officials said the storm hit the UPS building in Lone Grove, injuring people in the parking lot. A UPS spokesman told Eyewitness News 5 Tuesday night that they did not want family members to come to the facility because roads in the area were impassable. Officials at the UPS facility are still assessing damages, and the spokesman was able to confirm one person with minor injuries.

Workers were staying at the facility because of power lines in the road, a UPS spokesman said.

_{© KOCO, AP} | Gewijzigd: 12 februari 2009, 05:47 uur, door Stormchazer

Nu al tornado's in VS

Gisteren heeft een 'supercell' in Texas en Oklahoma gezorgd voor tornado's in de regio. Een van deze tornado's heeft gezorgd voor tenminste 9 doden en ongeveer 50 gewonden in het plaatsje Lone Grove, in Oklahoma.

De tornado had een kracht van 4 volgens de Fujita schaal. Dit is een zeer verwoestende tornado met windsnelheden van 333 tot 418 km/uur. Bij deze windsnelheden worden huizen opgetild en auto's en grote voorwerpen worden door de lucht verplaatst.



De meeste mensen zijn overleden door rond vliegend pijn. Één man is overleden toen een 'pick-up truck' op hem terecht kwam. Oklahoma ligt in tornado alley. Normaal begint het tornado seizoen pas in maart. Sommige wetenschappers denken dat het vroeger komen van het tornado seizoen wordt veroorzaakt door het opwarmen van het water in de Golf van Mexico.

_{©Weeronline}