Oklahoma hit by new twisters, 2 dead

JOPLIN—Tornadoes touched down Tuesday killing at least two people in central Oklahoma, just two days after the devastating and deadly twister struck the neighboring state of Missouri, authorities said.

Tornadoes slammed into Canadian County, Oklahoma, just west of Oklahoma City, officials said.

“We have two confirmed fatalities,” Sheriff Randall Edwards of El Reno, Oklahoma told CNN.

“The tornadoes just went through our county less than an hour ago,” he said. “We’ve got multiple gas leaks. We’ve had several injured. Up to dozens.” People “blown off of (interstate) I-40.”

Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin urged people to stay safe indoors.

“Stay inside, listen to the TV or radio, stay underground,” Fallin said.

“On the news they’ve been showing pictures of the tornadoes on the ground. They’re huge also, and this is a very dangerous time right now,” she warned.

Oklahoma City did not immediately have damage reports.

“So far … Oklahoma City has been spared but the night is young. The metro area around us has been hit hard. And all of our resources are going to be stretched,” the city’s mayor Mick Cornet said.

A massive mile-wide funnel-cloud, with winds of up to 200 miles (320 kilometers) an hour, tore through the Missouri town of Joplin with devastating force late Sunday, leaving 122 people dead and hundreds more missing.