Tue, May 28, 2019 page7

• Heat, more storms predicted in the US

  LETHAL TWISTERS: Six people were killed by a tornado that hit two areas of Oklahoma over the weekend, and a risk of strong tornadoes remains

  • Reuters
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  Sweltering heat, storms and possible twisters were expected to hit the US southern plains and southeastern states on Memorial Day after a spate of deadly tornadoes and flooding in the region.

  Temperatures around 38?C were forecast in cities from Jacksonville, Florida, up the southeast into Macon and Savannah Georgia, and on to Charleston, South Carolina, the National Weather Service (NWS) said.

  “This is super hot for this time of year,” said John Deese, a NWS forecaster in Peachtree, Georgia, near Atlanta.

  

  Damage to the American Budget Value Inn in El Reno, Oklahoma, and vehicles parked outside it can be seen on Sunday in an aerial photograph after a tornado touched down on Saturday night, causing the second floor of the inn to partially collapse onto the first floor.

  Photo: Reuters

  “This is a heat wave across the south, and it’s going to be here for a while,” said Deese, predicting high temperatures through the week in the region.

  The risk of strong tornadoes are moderate, but remain possible through the week for the southeastern plains states, already hit by lethal twisters last week, forecasters said.

  The latest severe tornado killed two people in El Reno, Oklahoma late on Saturday, injured at least 29 and left hundreds homeless, officials said.

  

  The trail of destruction through the American Budget Value Inn and Skyview Mobile Park Estates left by a tornado that touched down in El Reno, Oklahoma, on Saturday night is revealed in an aerial photograph on Sunday.

  Photo: Reuters

  It crossed an interstate and walloped the American Budget Value Inn before ripping through the Skyview Estates trailer park, flipping and leveling homes, El Reno Mayor Matt White said at a news conference.

  Four more people were killed in the same storm in Sapulpa, a suburb of Tulsa, Oklahoma, more than 160km away, CNN reported on Sunday.

  Rescue workers on Sunday searched for survivors in the rubble left in El Reno, officials said.

  “It’s a tragic scene out there,” White said, adding later that: “People have absolutely lost everything.”

  He said the city established a GoFundMe site, the City of El Reno Tornado Relief Fund, for affected families. Several other businesses were also damaged, though not to the same extent as the motel.

  The two people who were killed were in the mobile home park, White said.

  The 29 people who were injured were taken to hospitals, where some were undergoing surgery. Some of the injuries were deemed critical, he said.

  The National Weather Service gave the tornado an EF3 rating, meaning it had wind speeds of 219kph to 266kph.

  Personnel who investigated the damage said the tornado lasted for four minutes and was about 75m wide at its widest point and was on the ground for 3.5km.

  Tweety Garrison, 63, told The Associated Press that she was in her mobile home with her husband, two young grandchildren and a family friend when she heard the storm coming and immediately hit the ground.

  Moments later, she heard her neighbor’s mobile home slam into hers before it flipped over and landed on her roof.

  Garrison said the incident lasted five to 10 minutes and that she received a tornado warning on her phone, but the sirens did not go off until after the twister hit.

  Her 32-year-old son, Elton Garrison, said he heard the wailing tornado sirens and had just laid down at home about a 1km away when his phone rang.

  He recognized his mother’s number, but there was no voice on the other end when he answered. “I thought, ‘That’s weird,’” he said.

  Then his mother called back, and delivered a chilling message: “We’re trapped.”

  He said when he arrived at his parents’ home, he found it blocked by debris and sitting with another trailer on top of it.

  He began clearing a path to the home so that he could eventually lift a portion of an outside wall just enough so that all five occupants could slip beneath it and escape.

  “My parents were in there and two of my kids, one nine and the other 12... My main emotion was fear,” said Elton Garrison, who has lived in El Reno for about 26 years. “I couldn’t get them out of there quick enough.”

  US southern plains including Nebraska, Oklahoma, Kansas and parts of Ohio will remain under flood watches and warnings through the week, as rains, wind, hail and possible twisters are in the forecast, said David Roth of the NWS Weather Prediction Center in College Park Maryland.

  Additional reporting by AP
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