Severe storms and tornadoes battered Oklahoma early on Sunday, ripping roofs off buildings in the middle of the night and leaving tens of thousands of homes and businesses without power.
Among numerous injuries, 11 people required hospital treatment, authorities said.
Much of the damage was reported in and around the state capital of Oklahoma City, near the state’s centre, but was also scattered elsewhere around the state.
The early morning storms set off tornado warnings that extended south to the Arkansas state line. Heavy rains caused flash flooding in some areas and one lightning-sparked house fire was reported.
More than 99,000 Oklahoma homes and businesses lost power during the overnight storms. By late on Sunday afternoon, that number was reduced to around 24,000. No fatalities had been reported.
Richard Thompson, forecast chief for the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Centre in Oklahoma, said he believes six or more tornadoes hit the state overnight. Meanwhile, forecasters warned state residents to brace for more heavy rain and possible severe weather through Monday.
“We’re not done with it yet,” he said.
Oklahoma City Fire Department spokesman Scott Douglas told The Associated Press that heavy rain and the lingering threat of tornadoes in the early morning darkness complicated early search and rescue efforts. He described a first sweep of hard-hit areas around 1.30am.
“It was a heavy downpour. We were trying to sweep the area with another possibility of a tornado coming through,” he said. “So that was in the back of our minds, too.”
Emergency workers had to free two people from an overturned mobile home, including a woman injured when an air conditioner landed on her leg, Mr Douglas said.
The scale of the damage came into focus as daylight broke. Local television footage showed downed power lines, walls peeled off homes, overturned vehicles and streets littered with debris.
The Oklahoma Heart Hospital South also sustained damage, state health officials said.
