Saturday, June 1, 2013

Top Stories - Google News: 'There's just no rest' as new twisters kill 5 in tornado-traumatized Oklahoma - CNN

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'There's just no rest' as new twisters kill 5 in tornado-traumatized Oklahoma - CNN
Jun 1st 2013, 06:34

  • Storms move east, causing damage in Missouri and Illinois
  • A mother and child were killed in the Oklahoma storms, an official says
  • At least 71 others were injured in Oklahoma
  • Oklahoma City covered in flood waters

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(CNN) -- The full scale of the destruction wrought by new tornadoes that plowed through Oklahoma will only be apparent when the sun comes up Saturday morning.

A handful of fresh twisters killed at least five people Friday, less than two weeks after a monstrous tornado waylaid the town of Moore, a suburb of Oklahoma City. Among the dead were a mother and her child, officials said.

At least 71 others were injured statewide.

Though the tornadoes were not as strong as the EF-5 twister that killed 24 on May 20, fear drove some people into their cars to flee.

Watch as tornado nears ground in OK
Dramatic tornado video
Five killed in Oklahoma tornadoes

The state's transportation authorities strongly advised residents not to drive, but some interstate highways in Oklahoma were jammed with stalled traffic.

Officials described parts of Interstates 35 and 40 near Oklahoma City as "a parking lot."

"We really needed a break after last (week), and there's just no rest," said city spokeswoman Kristy Yager.

City flooded

Once the terror of the tornadoes passed, Oklahomans faced a new reality: flood waters.

Heavy rains hosed Oklahoma City, with 8 to 11 inches drenching the metro area, Yager said.

One inch of flood water pooled the first floor of City Hall, and apartments in low-lying areas of town were hit harder.

"We've seen widespread flooding throughout the entire 621 square miles," she said.

Flooding stranded five empty city buses and some motorists.

"We saw flooding in areas that we don't see flooding. We were overwhelmed," said police Lt. Jay Barnett.

Widespread trouble

More than 212,000 customers across the Midwest early Saturday morning, including 86,000 in Oklahoma alone.

Missouri governor Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency, as the storm front moved into his state. Heavy rains in the past days have left the area vulnerable to flooding, he said. An apparent tornado damaged homes near St. Louis.

Oklahoma is already under a 30-day state of emergency following the Moore disaster on May 20.

The storm system has shifted to the East towards Illinois and Indiana, triggering tornado warnings and watches in its path.

A roof flew off a school gymnasium in Macoupin County, Illinois, and about 25 to 30 homes were damaged, officials said.

Moore traumatized

Sirens howled over the ruins of Moore, Oklahoma, Friday pushing storm-weary residents who stayed behind to rescue their homes from the previous weather disaster to take cover.

Mayor Glenn Lewis sat in a storm shelter, as he spoke with CNN's Anderson Cooper.

"This is unbelievable that it could possibly even hit again," he said. "We just started picking up (debris) two days ago."

He fears the new storms scattered it all around again.

CNN's Holly Yan, Jake Carpenter, Carma Hassan, Joe Sutton, Jennifer Feldman, Chandler Friedman and Dave Alsup contributed to this report.

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