ENID, Okla. (AP) — Families began cleaning up Friday after a powerful storm churned up at least one violent tornado that barreled through Oklahoma, damaging dozens of homes, throwing buildings off their foundations and stripping bark from trees.
However, despite the rubble left behind, no one was killed, and only minor injuries were reported. Many people waited out the storm inside cellars. Others heeded evacuation notices.
At least 40 homes were damaged, and light damage to a nearby Air Force base was reported. The most extensive destruction was in Enid, a city of about 50,000 people near the state's northern border in Garfield County, where a tornado was confirmed, according to the National Weather Service. Video showed a rapidly rotating column of air touching down along with totaled homes.
Survivors take shelter in cellars
“Especially in Oklahoma, we have great meteorologists," said Justin Hunt of Enid, who headed to his parents' house amid news reports that the tornado was close and took shelter in their cellar.
Basements aren’t common in Oklahoma because of the red clay soil and elevated water tables that make it difficult and expensive to install them, but many homes have storm cellars or safe rooms with reinforced concrete walls where people can take cover during tornadoes.
He emerged afterward to what he described as "a disaster.”
“I’ve been down in that cellar probably 30 times in my life, and it’s never been — you come out and it’s happened,” he said, standing outside his parents’ one-story brick home that had windows smashed out, a garage door caved in and extensive damage to its roof.
Storm leaves rubble in its wake
Commercial buildings just south of the city were turned into a pile of twisted metal, splintered wood and insulation by powerful winds that pushed the buildings completely off the concrete foundations.
The tornado knocked down utility poles and left power lines wrapped with huge chunks of debris. A home had part of its metal roof torn off and trees were left stripped of bark and limbs.
Dave Lamerton of Enid spent Friday morning salvaging what was left of his son Joseph’s woodworking shop just south of the city, along with some family members and a group of volunteers who traveled from Kansas to help with cleanup.
“The tornado just swung right through here and just hit us directly,” Lamerton said, pointing to a giant mess of splintered wood beams, furniture, debris and heavy machinery that was pushed into a massive pile at the edge of the building’s foundation. “We’ve got stuff on the property we can’t even find."
Meteorologists describe powerful storm system
One striking image from Thursday’s storms shows a tornado in the Enid area with a dark clouds of debris extending in V-shape on either side. That is typical of higher-end tornadoes, according to Mark Fox, the meteorologist in charge of the National Weather Service’s Norman office. It has such a violent motion as winds pick up dirt, debris and things like parts of people’s houses.
That kind of signature shows up once a tornado reaches the range of an EF-3 rating, or 136 to 165 mph (219 kph to 266 kph), but it has to be on the violent side with an EF-2 rating or higher, he said.
“If you start seeing things like this, you know it’s a violent tornado,” he said.
Neighboring counties also reported some flooded roads and barn damage. The National Weather Service office in Norman, Oklahoma, was sending two crews out Friday to do damage surveys related to six potential tornadoes in the Enid and Braman areas of north-central Oklahoma, meteorologist John Pike said.
Emergency crews go door-to-door
In Enid, police and fire departments and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol conducted multiple home searches, rescuing some trapped residents, Mayor David Mason said Friday.
Mason said some of the worst damage happened in Gray Ridge, a neighborhood on the south side of the city, where homes were knocked down.
“The support from our community has been remarkable. Businesses have offered equipment and labor, residents have opened their doors, and supplies have poured in already,” Mason posted online. “This is who Enid is in challenging moments — we continue to show up for one another.”
Fences and some equipment were knocked down at nearby Vance Air Force Base, about 80 miles (129 kilometers) north of Oklahoma City. The base was closed until further notice “due to ongoing power and water restoration efforts,” it posted online Friday.
Everyone assigned to the base has been accounted for and no injuries were reported, 71st Flying Training Wing Public Affairs Chief Ashley D. Hendricks said in an email Friday.
“Please join me in praying for the Enid community, which has been severely impacted by tonight’s tornado,” Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt posted on social media.
More bad weather possible
More storms are possible through Friday night across south-central and southeast Oklahoma, the weather service said. Strong to severe thunderstorms are expected to develop Saturday, including in the Enid area.
It was a stormy night in other states, too. In Kearney, Missouri, north of Kansas City, officials reported downed trees, debris blocking roadways and damage to homes on Thursday night after storms passed through the area. Officials said in a social media post that no injuries had been reported. Crews worked to make roads passable by early Friday and were expected to continue cleanup efforts during the day.
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Associated Press writers Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire, and Sarah Brumfield in Cockeysville, Maryland, contributed to this report.
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