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Two people are dead in Oklahoma after a possible tornado struck Wednesday night, authorities said.
The McClain County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the two deaths and said in a Facebook post that crews were responding to reports of injuries and people trapped in their shelters.
Residents of Cole, a town in the county about 25 miles south of Oklahoma City, were told to take shelter immediately Wednesday evening. The county’s emergency management agency said at 7:39 p.m. that a dangerous tornado was over the town.
“Based on the damage and reports we’re getting back, as significant as it is, reasonably there could be more injuries or deaths that we don’t know about at this time,” McClain County Sheriff’s Deputy Scott Gibbons told reporters earlier, when there was one confirmed death.
Helicopter video from NBC affiliate KFOR of Oklahoma City showed destroyed homes in and around Cole, a town of around 620.
Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Eric Foster told reporters that Cole had significant damage and that trees and power lines were down.
He said the rural nature of the community and the state, as well as the damage, means searchers need time to check on damaged properties and storm shelters.
“We’re having to park and walk miles to get into a lot of these places, and so it will take us time to search that,” Foster said. “We do know that there are injuries. We do know that there is significant damage to properties.”
In Norman, which is east of Cole, the University of Oklahoma told everyone on its campus to seek immediate shelter and to stay away from windows as the dangerous storms approached. The threat of tornadoes later passed.
In Pottawatomie County, the weather service warned of a storm with a tornado approaching Shawnee, a city of around 30,000. It wasn’t immediately clear whether there were any injuries.
The extent of the damage also wasn’t immediately clear. KFOR broadcast images showed downed power lines and damaged business signs in the city.
Pottawatomie County Emergency Management said in Facebook posts that roads and streets were blocked by debris or power lines, “too many to list.” It urged people to stay home so first responders could do their jobs.
Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee said classes were canceled Thursday and Friday, and students were told to stay in their housing units Wednesday night, citing debris and downed power lines.
“No injuries have been reported but damage to campus is significant,” the university said in a Facebook post.
The weather service on Wednesday had forecast a chance of severe thunderstorms, as well as tornadoes, in parts of the Great Plains because of a cold front.
