(Reuters) – A swarm of tornadoes touched down overnight in Oklahoma, according to local media reports, killing at least one person and injuring at least five as they flattened homes and ripped down trees in the northeast corner of the state.
As the morning sun rose over the area, fire crews were surveying the destruction and rescuing residents in Barnsdall and Bartlesville, two rural towns just north of Tulsa ravaged by the twisters, according to local news.
Some 40 homes were damaged or destroyed and a natural gas leak was reported in Barnsdall, according to the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management. One person died in the community of 1,000, according to KOCO News.
Five others were injured in Bartlesville, a town of 30,000, the ABC affiliate in Oklahoma City reported.
Video footage aired on local media and social media showed destroyed houses, downed powerlines and trees and debris strewn across roadways throughout the area. Some 16,000 homes and businesses were without power in Oklahoma, according to Poweroutage.us.
Storm spotters reported 17 tornadoes touched down in the Plains region overnight, including eight sightings in Missouri, according to the National Weather Service, which has yet to confirm whether the damage or casualties were caused by tornadoes.
The dangerous weather was expected to remain on Tuesday as some two million people in the region were under a tornado watch, the NWS said.
(Reporting by Brendan O’Brien in Chicago; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
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