At least 10 people were injured after a tornado hit northern Oklahoma, as a strong weather system produced a dozen reported twisters that tore destructively through parts of the central US overnight.
At least 40 homes were damaged, and light damage was reported at a nearby air force base. Though injuries amid the rubble were reported, no one was killed.
Emergency services began assessing the most extensive damage in the rural town of Enid as dawn broke on Friday.
Homes there were reduced to rubble and splintered wood in the city of about 50,000 people near the state’s northern border. A number of videos showed terrifying wind funnels touching down and roaring across the land towards settlements. The largest tornado was reported to have stayed on the ground for 30 minutes, carving a snaking trail of damage.
The intense weather system in Oklahoma hit, and by early Friday, more than 120 homes were reported destroyed by wildfires sweeping across parts of Georgia, where two blazes have burned tens of thousands of acres amid drought conditions and high winds.
Furthermore, a volunteer firefighter battling a wildfire in the neighboring state of Florida died after suffering a medical emergency, local officials said Friday.
James “Kevin” Crews of the Hilliard volunteer fire department was helping suppress a brush fire in Nassau county near the Georgia state line late Thursday afternoon when he was stricken by an unspecified medical emergency, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office there.
Officials said Crews was rushed to a hospital and died Thursday evening.
“Kevin was the epitome of courage and dedication,” Jerry Johnson, Hilliard’s volunteer fire chief, said in a statement. “His sacrifice will never be forgotten.”
At least 30 million people will find themselves in risk areas for dangerous weather over the next three days, especially as seasonal tornadoes continue and spread over a wider area, including into Illinois, weather services reported.
In Oklahoma, the Garfield county sheriff’s office said on Friday there were no immediate reports of fatalities and only minor injuries hours after the tornado passed through, having hit as residents were retiring for the night on Thursday. The mayor of Enid said some people were trapped in their homes and had to be rescued.
Emergency crews were conducting search and rescue operations amid significant damage, including at the Vance air force base in Enid.
The air force base confirmed the impact from the tornado in a Facebook post and said its staff were conducting procedures to ensure all personnel were safe and accounted for.
“Base leadership is assessing the installation to determine the extent of damage and to ensure the safety of facilities and infrastructure,” the base said.
The base later said it was closed until further notice “due to ongoing power and water restoration efforts” and “only mission essential personnel required to support critical operations and restoration of base utilities should report for duty”.
The mayor of Enid, David Mason, said personnel from the city’s police and fire departments were coordinating emergency response efforts and urged residents to stay away from the Gray Ridge area, where houses had collapsed.
According to local media reports, the Garfield county emergency manager had reported that at least 10 people had suffered minor injuries.
“The support from our community has been remarkable. Local businesses have offered equipment and labor, residents have opened their doors, and supplies have poured in already,” Mason posted online.
Amy Kuntz, who was driving home to Enid, had to calm and instruct her daughter over the phone.
“She said, ‘I don’t know what to do.’ And then I was like, ‘Get in the bathtub.’ So she got in the bathtub and not even a minute later, she’s like, ‘Mom, the roof’s gone,’” Kuntz told local station KFOR-TV.
Reuters and the Associated Press contributed reporting
