Latest news with #OklahomaDepartmentofEmergencyManagement
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Severe storms batter Oklahoma towns: Where were tornadoes? How to report damage
Five counties are working to recover after recent storms battering Oklahoma left damage in the area. According to the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management, five counties saw storm damage, and three more are currently under investigation for additional damage. In addition, several counties report power outages throughout Monday, specifically in eastern Oklahoma. At the storm's peak, more than 34,700 homes and businesses lost power. The majority of outages were located in eastern Oklahoma. As of 9 a.m. Tuesday, one tornado has been confirmed by the National Weather Service in Norman. The twister began at 5:26 p.m. Monday, May 19, near Wardville and crossed toward Blanco and Pittsburg, Oklahoma. According to the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management, 10 homes were destroyed in the Blanco and Pittsburg areas, and the Blanco fire department was destroyed. The National Weather Service Tulsa highlighted several more possible tornadoes occurring Monday on social media, including two in Pittsburg County, Gowen, Sequoyah County, two in Adair County and Le Flore County. Between 5:30 and 6 p.m., Ellis County experienced four unique possible tornadoes, each lasting less than 10 minutes, the weather service said. The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management is seeking residents' reports. If Monday's storms or flooding damaged your property, report your damages on the State's website. Reporting damages allows the local and state emergency managers to coordinate efforts and connect residents to resources. Residents can report damage to homes, businesses or agriculture through the online portal. According to the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management, these are the counties that experienced storm damage reports: Mayes County: A few buildings are damaged in the industrial park in Locust Grove and Highway 69 is blocked by downed powerlines Okfuskee County: Businesses and homes with roof damage in downtown Ft. Gibson. Trees are down from downtown to 6 Mile Road. Okfuskee County: Two buildings damaged in Okemah and numerous tree limbs down. Pittsburg County: 10 homes destroyed in the Blanco and Pittsburg areas. Blanco fire department is destroyed. Pontotoc County: Tree limbs down, power lines down, and two carports destroyed. Many roadways experienced flash flooding. Damage assessments are ongoing in the counties listed above as well as in Adair, Cherokee, and Coal counties. See live updates on how weather is impacting OG&E. See live updates on how weather is impacting PSO power. Outage data from Public Service Company of Oklahoma. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Tornadoes in Oklahoma last night: Where was damage, how to report
Epoch Times
20-05-2025
- Climate
- Epoch Times
More Severe Weather Pummels Central US as Thousands Recover From Deadly Tornadoes
LONDON, Ky.—More tornadoes plowed through the central United States on Monday, ripping apart buildings and knocking out power as people from Texas to Kentucky continued to clean up from days of severe weather that killed more than two dozen people and destroyed thousands of homes and buildings. At least four tornadoes were confirmed in Oklahoma and Nebraska on Monday evening, according to a preliminary report from the National Weather Service. Across Oklahoma, at least 10 homes were destroyed and multiple buildings were damaged, including a fire station that was wiped out, according to the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management. A spokesperson for the agency said they have not received any reports of injuries or deaths. Around 115,000 customers were without power in Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Missouri, according to Parts of several highways were also closed due to flooding or storm damage. In northwest Arkansas, severe weather caused a Halsey concert to be canceled, and a municipal airport had to close temporarily Monday night so crews could remove debris from the field. And in Oklahoma, Tulsa Public Schools canceled all afterschool activities. Related Stories 5/18/2025 5/17/2025 Northern Texas saw softball-sized hail measuring 4 1/2 inches in diameter, according to Scott Kleebauer, a meteorologist with the service's Weather Prediction Center. Missouri and Kentucky Clean Up Earlier Monday in St. Louis, where officials estimated a Friday tornado damaged 5,000 buildings and may cost well over $1 billion, the mayor warned that federal assistance could take weeks. Kentucky has been hardest hit by the storms. A devastating tornado late Friday into early Saturday damaged hundreds of homes, tossed vehicles, and killed at least 19 people, most of them in southeastern Laurel County. In London, Kentucky, where the devastation was centered, the small airport became a beehive of cleanup work after it took a direct hit from a tornado. Small aircraft stored there had large dents in them, and even wings ripped open. Officials were using it as a base to get water, food, diapers, and other supplies out to the community. 'We have 1,001 things going on. But we're managing it. And we're going to get it all cleaned up,' said London Mayor Randall Weddle. Officials in Kansas and Texas were also evaluating damage from late Sunday storms. The risk of severe storms moves into Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee on Tuesday, the weather service said. Kentucky Hit Hard The Kentucky storms that killed 19 people were part of a weather system that caused seven deaths in Missouri and two in northern Virginia, authorities said. Lonnie Nantz hid in a hallway with his wife, two daughters, and a grandson as the one-story brick home they bought near London in 1977 was destroyed around them. They were trapped in rubble for about 20 minutes in the midnight darkness before they were rescued unharmed. 'I don't know why this happened. I've tried to live a good life all my life. I've still got the faith,' said the 77-year-old Nantz, who went to church as always on Sunday. London city worker Ashley Taylor was back on the job Monday loading doughnuts to take to a hospital and dispatch center even though there was a tarp on her roof. She was lucky—the houses across her street were destroyed late Friday night. She survived the storm with nine other people and three dogs in the crawl space of a neighbor's home. 'We prayed like never before—and just thankful for everything God did for us,' Taylor said. In surrounding Laurel County, first responders mourned one of their own. Fellow firefighters found the body of Laurel County Fire Major Leslie Leatherman on top of a woman he was shielding from the storm's fury as he answered calls during the worst of the storm. The woman was yelling for help, and they were in a field across from a destroyed subdivision. The injured woman turned out to be Leatherman's wife, and officials aren't sure if he knew who he was protecting in the darkness and chaos, the fire department said on social media. St. Louis Waits for FEMA St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer said five people died, 38 were injured, and more than 5,000 homes were affected by an EF3 tornado with winds up to 150 mph that slammed areas north and west of downtown Friday. Spencer has estimated that damages will exceed $1.6 billion. 'Eight miles of pure destruction, at times a mile wide,' Spencer said at a Monday news conference. 'We're talking about thousands of buildings, thousands of families are being displaced.' The city is awaiting a disaster declaration from the governor's office as a first step to getting federal assistance. U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, expressed frustration over the federal response to a deadly March storm. 'I'm not happy about the fact we're still waiting from all of that damage two months ago,' Hawley said. Acting Federal Emergency Management Agency Chief David Richardson said last week he plans to shift responsibility for disaster recovery to states this year as part of an agencywide transformation and that FEMA would coordinate federal assistance 'when deemed necessary.' Spencer said during a news conference Monday evening that emergency protocols put in place in 2021 were not followed, possibly preventing sirens from being activated to warn residents about the tornado. She said it was not clear whose responsibility it was to let the community know about the emergency, but that the fire department would do so moving forward. In Texas, several tornadoes touched down west of Fort Worth on Sunday, including an EF1 with peak winds of 105 mph that caused damage in and around Gordon, the weather service said Monday. By Bruce Schreiner
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Business Standard
20-05-2025
- Climate
- Business Standard
More severe storms hit central US as thousands recover from tornadoes
More tornadoes ploughed through the central US on Monday, ripping apart buildings and knocking out power as people from Texas to Kentucky continued to clean up from days of severe weather that killed more than two dozen people and destroyed thousands of homes and buildings. At least four tornadoes were confirmed in Oklahoma and Nebraska on Monday evening, according to a preliminary report from the National Weather Service. Across Oklahoma, at least 10 homes were destroyed and multiple buildings were damaged, including a fire station that was wiped out, according to the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management. A spokesperson for the agency said they have not received any reports of injuries or deaths. Around 115,000 customers were without power in Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri, according to Parts of several highways were also closed due to flooding or storm damage. In northwest Arkansas, severe weather caused a Halsey concert to be cancelled. And in Oklahoma, Tulsa Public Schools cancelled all after school activities. Northern Texas saw softball-sized hail measuring 11.4 centimetres in diameter, according to Scott Kleebauer, a meteorologist with the service's Weather Prediction Centre. Missouri and Kentucky clean up Earlier Monday in St Louis, where officials estimated a Friday tornado damaged 5,000 buildings and may cost well over USD1 billion, the mayor warned that federal assistance could take weeks. Kentucky has been hardest hit by the storms. A devastating tornado late Friday into early Saturday damaged hundreds of homes, tossed vehicles and killed at least 19 people, most of them in southeastern Laurel County. In London, Kentucky, where the devastation was centred, the small airport became a beehive of cleanup work after it took a direct hit from a tornado. Small aircraft stored there had large dents in them and even wings ripped open. Officials were using it as a base to get water, food, diapers and other supplies out to the community. "We have 1,001 things going on. But we're managing it. And we're going to get it all cleaned up, said London Mayor Randall Weddle. Officials in Kansas and Texas also were evaluating damage from late Sunday storms. The risk of severe storms moves into Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee on Tuesday, the weather service said. Kentucky hit hard The Kentucky storms that killed 19 people were part of a weather system that caused seven deaths in Missouri and two in northern Virginia, authorities said. Lonnie Nantz hid in a hallway with his wife, two daughters and a grandson as the one-story brick home they bought near London in 1977 was destroyed around them. They were trapped in rubble for about 20 minutes in the midnight darkness before they were rescued unharmed. I don't know why this happened. I've tried to live a good life all my life. I've still got the faith," said the 77-year-old Nantz, who went to church as always on Sunday. London city worker Ashley Taylor was back on the job Monday loading doughnuts to take to a hospital and dispatch centre even though there was a tarp on her roof. She was lucky the houses across her street were destroyed late Friday night. She survived the storm with nine other people and three dogs in the crawl space of a neighbour's home. We prayed like never before and just thankful for everything God did for us, Taylor said. In surrounding Laurel County, first responders mourned one of their own. Fellow firefighters found the body of Laurel County Fire Major Leslie Leatherman on top of a woman he was shielding from the storm's fury as he answered calls during the worst of the storm. The woman was yelling for help and they were in a field across from a destroyed subdivision. The injured woman turned out to be Leatherman's wife and officials aren't sure if he knew who he was protecting in the darkness and chaos, the fire department said on social media. St Louis waits for FEMA St Louis Mayor Cara Spencer said five people died, 38 were injured and more than 5,000 homes were affected by an EF3 tornado with winds up to 240 kilometer per hour that slammed areas north and west of downtown Friday. Spencer has estimated that damages will exceed USD1.6 billion. Eight miles of pure destruction, at times a mile wide," Spencer said at a Monday news conference. We're talking about thousands of buildings, thousands of families are being displaced. The city is awaiting a disaster declaration from the governor's office as a first step to getting federal assistance. US Sen Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, expressed frustration over the federal response to a deadly March storm. I'm not happy about the fact we're still waiting from all of that damage two months ago," Hawley said. Acting Federal Emergency Management Agency Chief David Richardson said last week he plans to shift responsibility for disaster recovery to states this year as part of an agencywide transformation and that FEMA would coordinate federal assistance when deemed necessary. Spencer said during a news conference Monday evening that emergency protocols put in place in 2021 were not followed, possibly preventing sirens being activated to warn residents about the tornado. She said it was not clear whose responsibility it was to let the community know about the emergency but that the fire department will do so moving forward. In Texas, several tornadoes touched down west of Fort Worth on Sunday, including an EF1 with peak winds of 169 kph that caused damage in and around Gordon, the weather service said Monday.
New Indian Express
20-05-2025
- Climate
- New Indian Express
Severe weather pummels central US as thousands continue to recover from deadly tornadoes
LONDON (KENTUCKY): More tornadoes plowed through the central US on Monday, ripping apart buildings and knocking out power as people from Texas to Kentucky continued to clean up from days of severe weather that killed more than two dozen people and destroyed thousands of homes and buildings. At least four tornadoes were confirmed in Oklahoma and Nebraska on Monday evening, according to a preliminary report from the National Weather Service. Across Oklahoma, at least 10 homes were destroyed and multiple buildings were damaged, including a fire station that was wiped out, according to the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management. A spokesperson for the agency said they have not received any reports of injuries or deaths. Around 115,000 customers were without power in Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri, according to Parts of several highways were also closed due to flooding or storm damage. In northwest Arkansas, severe weather caused a Halsey concert to be canceled and a municipal airport had to close temporarily Monday night so crews could remove debris from the field. And in Oklahoma, Tulsa Public Schools canceled all afterschool activities. Northern Texas saw softball-sized hail measuring 4 1/2 inches (11.4 centimeters) in diameter, according to Scott Kleebauer, a meteorologist with the service's Weather Prediction Center.
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Oklahoma severe weather leads to nine deaths and ongoing coordination efforts, says authorities
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – Recent severe weather in Oklahoma has led to nine deaths as severe weather moved throughout the state, says State agencies. The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management on Friday released the latest situation update regarding flooding and severe weather impacting the state. The State Emergency Operations Center (EOC) remains activated due to ongoing flooding and the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management (OEM) continues to work alongside emergency managers for coordination efforts with the following organizations: Oklahoma Highway Patrol Oklahoma Department of Transportation Oklahoma Turnpike Authority Oklahoma State Department of Health Oklahoma Corporation Commission Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, Oklahoma Office of Homeland Security Oklahoma Department of Agriculture Food and Forestry Oklahoma Forestry Services Oklahoma Insurance Department Oklahoma National Guard National Weather Service Tribal Nations Oklahoma Voluntary Organizations Residents are asked to report damages to their property at Grady County families stranded after dam collapse washes away road FATALITIES The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has confirmed seven flood-related fatalities since April 19: 2 – Cleveland County 4/19 2 – Wagoner County 4/21 1 – Comanche County 4/26 1 – Lincoln County 4/30 1 – Pottawatomie County 4/30 Two additional fatalities are attributed to severe storms: 1 – Adair County 4/19 1 – Hughes County 4/20 RESPONSE COORDINATION Hominy remains under a water emergency today after a water line was damaged due to flooding. Tulsa Police Department Incident Management Team deployed four members to provide incident support. Midwest City Emergency Manager is providing support with public information. Osage Nation, Osage County, Creek County, Pawnee, and Okmulgee County provided water buffaloes. Oklahoma Water Resources Board, Department of Environmental Quality, Oklahoma Rural Water Association, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are continuing to provide technical support for impacts at area dams, including Lake Waxhoma Dam. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is providing sandbags for jurisdictions as needed, including 10,000 for Waurika. The State EOC is supporting requests for swift water rescue teams for Stephens County and City of Waurika. MASS CARE American Red Cross will open a resource center in Lawton at First Baptist Church, 501 SW B. Ave. The center will be open the following days: May 4, 2:00 -6:00 p.m. May 5, 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. May 6, 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. City of Waurika has a shelter site on standby to open if needed at Jefferson County Fairgrounds in Waurika. Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief will be in Lawton next week to assist homeowners affected by recent floods. Call 1-844-690-9198 or visit Use Be a Neighbor to connect with nonprofits and community organizations ready to help: ROAD CLOSURES Oklahoma Department of Transportation reports the following highways are closed due to flooding: SH-5B is closed south of Walters between SH-5A and US-70 in Cotton County. SH-80 is closed west of Hulbert in Cherokee County Scenic SH-77 is closed downstream of the Lake Murray Spillway in Love County. SH-48 is closed 1.5 miles south of I-40 in Okfuskee County. Local roads or highways remain closed or washed out in 16 counties: Alfalfa Carter Cherokee Cotton Grady Johnston Lincoln Logan Love Marshall Mayes McClain Muskogee Nowata Pottawatomie Stephens Officials are reminding drivers not to drive through flooded roads or drive around barricades to enter a flooded or flood-damaged road. Logan Co. Emergency Management monitoring flood situation amid rainy month STATE OF EMERGENCY A State of Emergency Remains in effect starting April 19 for the following counties Cleveland, Comanche, and Cotton. DIAL 211 For Oklahoma residents seeking non-emergency disaster or health and human service information, please contact 2-1-1. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
