More than a dozen tornadoes ripped through Oklahoma on Wednesday, destroying homes and injuring 12 people.
The Oklahoman reports that the damage is widespread and that the thunderstorms that spawned the twisters also brought lots of rain that could lead to record flooding.
The paper reports:
"No deaths were reported, but 12 people were taken to local hospitals, two with critical injuries, after a mobile home park at SE 48 and Hattie in Oklahoma City was struck by a tornado. EMSA crews were searching the park late Wednesday for more injured people."A tornado Wednesday night destroyed the Best Value Inn east of Interstate 35 in south Oklahoma City, demolished a nearby storage facility and damaged Frontier State Bank. Oklahoma City police officers and rescue workers using flashlights searched the wreckage of the large motel for survivors, hampered by flooding, a driving rain and lightning. An ambulance rushed an injured person from that area to a hospital. The person's condition was unknown."
As for the rain, NBC News reports Oklahoma City recorded 7.1 inches of rain, "almost tripling the previous record for rainfall that was set in 1930."
Because of the tornadoes and the rain, Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City was evacuated two times and all flights in and out of the airport were cancelled.
NBC News adds:
"Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin was preparing to sign an emergency declaration for Oklahoma City and would be visiting some of the affected areas Thursday, her office said.
"In Kansas, a tornado caused "significant damage" to homes and injured one person in the small community of Jewell, and another damaged buildings near Lincoln, according to the National Weather Service."
