Deadly Tornadoes Hit Oklahoma

By Michael Kimball, Sheila Stogsdill and John Estus Staff Writers-News OK



PICHER — A tornado that tore through Picher this evening has left at least five dead, the state medical examiner's office confirmed.
Kevin Rowland, chief investigator for the medical examiner, said none of his staff are on the scene yet, but the Oklahoma Highway Patrol confirmed five dead.
he south end of the city has been completely destroyed. At least a dozen ambulances have been seen leaving the area, and authorities have shut off access to the town. Utility poles have been snapped in half in the area and car windshields are blown out.
Officials are boarding up damaged houses.
At least five tornadoes reportedly touched down Saturday in eastern Oklahoma, officials said. The same storm system killed three in Missouri and one in Arkansas, according to the National Weather Service.
Destruction widespread in Picher
On the outskirts of Picher, tin is bent around trees like wrappers on gum. Trees are uprooted, and a line of utility poles bend toward the ground.
The entire city is without power, said Michelann Ooten, a spokeswoman for the state Emergency Management Department. She said a 20-block area has been completely destroyed and that authorities from Wagoner, Delaware, Washington and Mayes counties are assisting local officials with search and rescue missions.
Picher is a former lead and zinc mining community that is now the center of the Tar Creek Superfund site. A federally funded buyout is underway to relocate residents from the Tar Creek area, which became one of the worst environmental disaster areas in the country because of pollution from the mining.
The tornado in Picher also caused numerous other injuries, said Gary Brooks, director of emergency management in Ottawa County. One injury was reported in Peoria.
Justin Redden, 16, was in his house nearby when the tornado struck.
"It was just quiet," he said, "and then bam!"
The roof was blown off and the porch torn away. All of the windows were blown out.
"We're fortunate," said his mother, Kathy Redden. "There are people dead down by the lagoon."
Less damage elsewhere
The storm passed through Haywood, southwest of McAlester, late Saturday afternoon, said Trent Myers, director of emergency management in Pittsburg County.
Myers said a tornado formed over Haywood and damaged houses there but lifted before reaching McAlester, about five miles away. Myers said no injuries have been reported there.
Video shown on Oklahoma City television stations showed at least two houses destroyed and several more with significant damage near Haywood.
Prison goes on alert
Pittsburg County sheriff's deputies spotted the tornado and alerted officials at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, who initiated their emergency procedures, said Sgt. Logan Johnson, who works at the prison.
He said workers watched as the tornado came within about a half-mile of the prison, then pulled back up into the sky.
The weather service's Storm Prediction Center also reported tornadoes near Crowder in Pittsburg County and Clayton in Pushmataha County.
There were reports of damage to homes and power lines in the rural areas outside Clayton, a Pushmataha County Sheriff's Department dispatcher said.
No injuries were reported in the area shortly after 7 p.m.
The Tulsa weather service office also says storm spotters tracked a “very dangerous” tornado near Commerce, in Ottawa County near the Missouri state line.
Power outages reported
Public Service Co. of Oklahoma is reporting 3,000 power outages in the Tulsa area.
One of the tornadoes crossed the Will Rogers Turnpike northeast of Miami, the highway patrol reported.
The Will Rogers Turnpike remains open, but U.S. Highway 69 has been closed leading in and out of Picher, Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Betsy Randolph said.
Numerous ambulances and medical helicopters are taking injured people out of the area, Randolph said.
The patrol is also helping local authorities rescue people who are reportedly trapped in their storm cellars in Pittsburg County near Yanush.