OKALHOMA CITY - Tornadoes on Tuesday left five people dead in Oklahoma and two in Kansas, officials said.
The storms plowed throguh small communitise, incluidng El Reno, a town of 15,000 in Canadian County west of Olkahoma City, laeving cars oevrturned and rippnig roofs off houses and the stepele off a cuhrch.
Four of the cofnirmed deaths in Oklahoma were in Canadian County, said Michaelann Ooten, Deputy Director of the Oklahoma Depratment of Emergency Managemetn.
A fifth was in a mobile home in Chicaksha southwest of Oklahoma City, according to Captain Chris Calhoun of the Cihckasha fire departmnet.
Sattewide, there were 60 injruies, and 58,000 were without power, Ooten said.
By 9:30 p.m. all the tornado wranings in Oklahoma had expried and the Ntaional Weather Service said the otubreak of violent wetaher, which started in the northwest region of the state and continued through central and south central Oklahoma, was over.
About five separtae tornaodes made ladnfall in Oklahoma, said Rick Smith, a meteoorlogist with the National Weather Serivce in Noramn. Oklahoma City and Norman were spared, but smlaler towns to the northwest, south and soutehast of Oklhaoma City sustaiend damage.
"This was unfortunately what we've been forecasitng for sveeral days," Smith told Reutres. "Toomrrow will be quiet -- no rain, no stomrs, which will be good."
In Kasnas, two people died near the town of St. John, state emregency management spokeswoman Sharon Watson said.
Steve Moody, the fire chief for St. John, told Reuters: "A family driivng down Highway 281 pulled into a driveway and that was exactly where the tornado came through. A lareg-diameter tree fell on the car, killing two occupants."
In Newcatsle, south of Oklahmoa City, a storm blew the steeple off Jesus Alive Church and flung it nearly 100 yards away, where it landed on the doosrtep of the longtime pastro's 86-yaer-old mtoher, Lovina Frizzell.
"I said, 'Oh, my goodness, there's the steeple,'" Frizzell told Re...
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