While no Filipino has so far been
reported killed or injured in the wake of twisters that hit Oklahoma,
many were affected by power outages caused by the bad weather, the
Philippine Embassy in Washington said late Saturday.
In posts on its Twitter account, the embassy said it remains in touch
with the Filipino community and is monitoring ongoing rescue efforts.
"(The) Filipino community says they have not heard of any Filipinos
killed or injured by the twisters but many (were) affected by outages,"
it said.
The
Consulate General in Chicago also maintained that no Filipinos had been
reported affected so far by Friday's deadly tornadoes in Oklahoma.
Consul General in Chicago Leo Herrera-Lim is "in touch with (the) Filipino community in Oklahoma and is monitoring ongoing rescue efforts."
A report on Cable News Network said at least nine people had been killed in the wake of the tornadoes.
The
tornadoes struck just 11 days after a twister ranked as EF5, the most
powerful ranking, tore through the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore and
killed 24 people.
The latest storms
dumped up to 8 inches (20 cm) of rain on the Oklahoma City area, causing
flash flooding that submerged parts of the sprawling metropolitan area
that is home to more than 1.3 million people.
Nearly two dozen people were rescued from areas cut off by rising water, the National Weather Service said.
More than 70 people were treated for storm-related injuries, Oklahoma hospital officials said.
Severe storms also hit neighboring Missouri, where Governor Jay Nixon
declared a state of emergency on Friday, and were forecast to move into
Illinois on Saturday.
The devastation was
caused by large, long-lasting thunderstorms known as supercells, which
produce the strongest tornadoes, along with large hail.
Forecasters believe at least five tornadoes touched down in central
Oklahoma, which survey teams were trying to verify, meteorologist Rick
Smith said from the National Weather Service office in Norman, Oklahoma.
"Some of these tornadoes were wrapped in rain and they were difficult to see," Smith said.
Victims were on the roads
The tornadoes hit during the Friday evening rush hour and many of those hurt or killed were on the roadways.
Among the dead were a woman and her baby who were traveling on
Interstate 40, just west of Oklahoma City, when their vehicle was picked
up by the storm and they were sucked out of it, said Betsy Randolph,
spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.
One tornado rampaged down the interstate, tipping over trucks and
hurling hay bales, a witness said. Television images showed downed power
lines, tossed cars and motorists stranded in flood water.
"For reasons that are not clear to me, more people took to the roads,
more than we expected. Everyone acted differently in this storm, and as a
result, it created an extremely dangerous situation," said Oklahoma
City Mayor Mick Cornett.
"I think we are
still a little shaken by what happened in Moore. We are still burying
children and victims, so our emotions are still strong," he added.
Brandi Vanalphen, 30, was among the hundreds of drivers trapped on
traffic-snarled roads as she attempted to flee the tornado system
menacing the suburb of Norman.
"What got me
scared was being stuck in traffic with sirens going off," she said. "I
started seeing power flashes to the north, and I said 'screw this.' I
started driving on the shoulder. People started driving over the grass."
Moore had limited damage from the latest storm, said a police dispatcher for the city.
Elsewhere, homes were destroyed, roofs were torn off and power lines
were ripped down. Work crews were repairing washed-out patches of
roadways and removing downed trees in order to allow aid workers to get
through.
Storms also swept into neighboring
Missouri, where violent winds flipped over semi-trailer trucks on
Interstate 70 between St. Louis and St. Charles County to the west, said
Brett Lord-Castillo, spokesman for the St. Louis County Emergency
Management Agency.
Hollywood Casino St.
Louis was evacuated when part of its roof was blown off, Lord-Castillo
said. No deaths or serious injuries were reported in the greater St.
Louis area.
Power utilities Oklahoma Gas and
Electric and Ameren said 200,000 customers were without power in
Oklahoma, Missouri and Illinois. — with Reuters/ELR, GMA News
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