Search and rescue efforts are continuing following the deadly tornado
EL RINO (Oklahoma, US), May 27 (NNN-AGENCIES) —At least two people have been killed after a tornado tore through the city of El Reno in Oklahoma, destroying a hotel and damaging a mobile home park, officials said.
The tornado struck the south-east of El Reno at about 22:30 local time on Saturday.
El Reno Mayor Matt White said several people were being treated in hospitals and rescue efforts were ongoing.
He described the damage caused by the tornado as “pretty devastating”.
Speaking at a press conference, White would not give details on how many people were injured, but said officials “know there are some serious injuries at this point in time”.
“El-Reno has suffered in the past couple of weeks [from] some significant flooding,” White added, as he called on people to offer prayers to those affected.
A number of severe weather warnings are currently in place for areas across Oklahoma.
The incident on Saturday follows a week of tornadoes, severe rain and flooding in states in the Southern Plains and Midwest regions.
Experts from the National Weather Service have begun assessing the damage, and say they have currently classified the tornado as EF2 on the Fujita scale, which means it had peak winds of at least 178 kph. — NNN-AGENCIES
