The Latest: Oklahoma tornado kills 2 and injures at least 29
EL RENO, Okla. (AP) — The Latest on a likely tornado that touched down in El Reno, Oklahoma (all times local):
9:30 a.m.
Authorities say two people were killed and more than two dozen were injured when a tornado destroyed a motel and swept through a nearby mobile home park west of Oklahoma City.
El Reno Mayor Matt White said at a Sunday news conference that 29 people were taken to hospitals with injuries ranging from minor to critical.
Rick Smith, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Norman, says the twister hit El Reno, which is about 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of Oklahoma City, late Saturday night as a powerful storm system rolled through the state.
White says authorities have accounted for everyone at the motel but are still searching the mobile home park. He says there's about a 2-mile (3.2-kilometer) path of damage and that, "People have absolutely lost everything."
The weather service gave the twister a preliminary rating of EF-2, which would mean it had wind speeds of 111-135 mph (179-217 kph).
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7:10 a.m.
Officials say two people have died after a likely tornado destroyed a motel and swept through a nearby mobile home park in the Oklahoma City area.
El Reno Mayor Matt White said during a news conference Sunday that "there have been two fatalities at this point in time." He said officials are working to notify relatives.
White said search and rescue efforts are continuing.
The National Weather Service says a likely tornado caused damage. Meteorologist Rick Smith in Norman says the suspected twister hit El Reno on Saturday night as a powerful storm system rolled through the state. Smith says crews will assess the damage on Sunday to determine the severity.
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