Tornados en Oklahoma dejan 4 muertos y destrucción a su paso / Tornadoes kill 4 in Oklahoma, leaving trail of destruction and thousands without power

abril 28, 2024 La Semana

BY KEN MILLER – HOLDENVILLE, Oklahoma, EE.UU. (AP) — Tornados que azotaron Oklahoma dejaron un amplio rastro de destrucción el domingo, arrasando casas y construcciones y dejando sin electricidad a miles de residentes. Al menos cuatro personas murieron, dijo el gobernador Kevin Stitt.

Casi 30.000 personas permanecían sin electricidad después de los tornados que comenzaron el sábado por la noche y dejaron un amplio rastro de destrucción. Los daños fueron extensos en Sulphur, una ciudad de unas 5.000 personas, donde algunos edificios del centro quedaron reducidos a escombros y los techos de las casas fueron arrancados en un radio de 15 cuadras.

Stitt dijo que unas 30 personas resultaron heridas en Sulphur.

Docenas de tornados reportados han causado caos en el centro de Estados Unidos desde el viernes, con avisos de inundaciones vigentes el domingo en Oklahoma y otros estados como Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas y Texas.

“No se puede creer la destrucción”, dijo Stitt. “Parece que todos los negocios del centro han sido destruidos”.

En Oklahoma, un tornado arrasó al poblado de Holdenville, de unos 5.000 habitantes, el sábado en la noche, matando a dos personas e hiriendo a otras cuatro, indicaron los Servicios de Emergencia del condado Hughes en un comunicado. Holdenville está a unos 129 kilómetros (80 millas) de Oklahoma City. Otra persona murió a lo largo de la Interestatal 35 cerca de la ciudad de Marietta, en el sur de Oklahoma, según el Departamento de Manejo de Emergencias de Oklahoma.

“Mis rezos van hacia las personas que perdieron a seres queridos por los tornados que azotaron anoche a Oklahoma”, dijo el gobernador en una declaración.

Stitt emitió el domingo una orden ejecutiva declarando el estado de emergencia en 12 condados debido a las consecuencias del clima severo mientras las cuadrillas trabajaban para limpiar los escombros y evaluar los daños de las tormentas severas que derribaron cables de luz. Más tarde, planeaba recorrer la ciudad de Sulphur, en el sur de Oklahoma, donde algunas construcciones quedaron reducidas a montones de escombros.

Casi 33.000 clientes estaban sin electricidad en Oklahoma el domingo en la mañana, según poweroutage.us, que monitorea las interrupciones de servicios eléctricos. En Texas, casi 52.000 usuarios estaban sin luz.

Se reportaron graves daños por la tormenta en Sulphur, en el sur de Oklahoma, donde las autoridades reportaron varios heridos.

La policía del condado Murray pidió a la ciudadanía a alejarse de la ciudad para dejar libre el camino a los rescatistas tras extensos daños por tornados, según un comunicado colocado por la agencia en Facebook.

“Quédense en casa y no vengan a observar”, dijo el departamento policial.

Un hospital resultó dañado en Marietta, según la Agencia de Gestión de Emergencias de Oklahoma, que añadió que la carretera interestatal 35 está cerrada en la frontera con Texas “debido a vehículos volcados y cables derribados en la vía”.

Residentes de otros estados también se reponían del desastre. Un tornado en un suburbio de Omaha, Nebraska, destruyó casas y negocios el sábado al arrasar primero cultivos agrícolas, luego suburbios y luego un poblado de Iowa.

El gobernador de Nebraska, Jim Pillen, y la gobernadora de Iowa, Kim Reynolds, pasaron el sábado recorriendo los daños y organizando asistencia para las comunidades dañadas. Aún se están realizando evaluaciones formales de daños, pero los estados planean buscar ayuda federal.

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Las periodistas de The Associated Press, Acacia Coronado, en Austin, Texas, y Sophia Tareen en Chicago contribuyeron a este informe.

más aquí https://apnews.com/us-news/general-news-14709cf2aaf28ac5988d7015986594ae

Tornadoes kill 4 in Oklahoma, leaving trail of destruction and thousands without power

BY KEN MILLER – SULPHUR, Okla. (AP) — Tornadoes killed four people in Oklahoma and left thousands without power Sunday after a destructive outbreak of severe weather flattened buildings in the heart of one rural town and injured at least 100 people across the state.

More than 20,000 people remained without electricity after tornadoes began late Saturday night. The destruction was extensive in Sulphur, a town of about 5,000 people, where many downtown buildings were reduced to rubble and roofs were sheared off houses across a 15-block radius.

“You just can’t believe the destruction,” Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt said during a visit to the hard-hit town. “It seems like every business downtown has been destroyed.”

Stitt said about 30 people were injured alone in Sulphur, including some who were in a bar as the tornado tore through. Hospitals across the state reported about 100 injuries, including people apparently cut or struck by debris or hurt from falls, according to the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management.

The deadly weather in Oklahoma added to the dozens of reported tornadoes that have wreaked havoc in the nation’s midsection since Friday. Flood watches and warnings continued in effect Sunday for Oklahoma and other states — including Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas and Texas.

Authorities said the tornado in Sulphur began in a city park before barreling through the downtown, flipping cars and ripping the roofs and walls off of brick buildings. Windows and doors were blown out of structures that remained standing.

“How do you rebuild it? This is complete devastation,” said Kelly Trussell, a lifelong Sulphur resident as she surveyed the damage. “It is crazy, you want to help but where do you start?”

Carolyn Goodman traveled to Sulphur from the nearby town of Ada in search of her former sister-in-law, who Goodman said was at a local bar before just before the tornado hit the area. Stitt said one of the victims was found inside a bar but authorities had not yet identified those killed.

“The bar was destroyed,” Goodman said. “I know they probably won’t find her alive … but I hope she is still alive.”

Farther north, a tornado near the town of Holdenville killed two people and damaged or destroyed more than a dozen homes, according to the Hughes County Emergency Medical Service. Another person was killed along Interstate 35 near the southern Oklahoma city of Marietta, according to the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management.

Heavy rains that swept into Oklahoma with the tornadoes also caused dangerous flooding and water rescues. Outside Sulphur, rising lake levels shut down the Chickasaw National Recreation Area, where the storms wiped out a pedestrian bridge.

Stitt issued an executive order Sunday declaring a state of emergency in 12 counties due to the fallout from the severe weather. State officials said more more than 20,000 customers were still without power in Oklahoma as of late Sunday afternoon.

At the Sulphur High School gym, where families took cover from the storm, Jackalyn Wright said she and her family heard what sounded like a helicopter as the tornado touched down over them. Chad Smith, 43, said people ran into the gym as the wind picked up. The rain started coming faster and the doors slammed shut. “Just give me a beer and a lawn chair and I will sit outside and watch it,” Smith said. Instead, he took cover.

Residents in other states were also digging out from storm damage. A tornado in suburban Omaha, Nebraska, demolished homes and businesses Saturday as it moved for miles through farmland and into subdivisions, then slammed an Iowa town.

The tornado damage began Friday afternoon near Lincoln, Nebraska. An industrial building in Lancaster County was hit, causing it to collapse with 70 people inside. Several were trapped, but everyone was evacuated, and the three injuries were not life-threatening, authorities said.

One or possibly two tornadoes then spent around an hour creeping toward Omaha, leaving behind damage consistent with an EF3 twister, with winds of 135 to 165 mph (217 to 265 kph), said Chris Franks, a meteorologist in the National Weather Service’s Omaha office.

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds spent Saturday touring the damage and arranging for assistance for the damaged communities. Formal damage assessments are still underway, but the states plan to seek federal help.