Americas

Americas

Death toll from Oklahoma tornado rises to 6

16 April 2012 18:45 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The death toll from a giant weekend tornado in the U.S. state of Oklahoma rose to six Monday with the death of a critically injured man, officials said Monday, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

More than 120 tornadoes were reported in five U.S. states over the past weekend, causing widespread damage.

One of the tornadoes touched down at about 12:18 a.m. Sunday in and around Woodward, a town about 140 miles northwest of Oklahoma city. That’s where some of the worst damage was done.

Six people, including three children, were killed in Woodward.

The sixth victim, a man whose name has not been released, died at a hospital in Amarillo, Texas, about 160 miles away, Woodward emergency manager Matt Lehenbauer was quoted by CNN as saying.

The man’s wife remains hospitalized in critical condition, Lehenbauer said.

At least 29 people were injured in Woodward, according to officials.

Storms were also reported in Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska over the weekend. The storm system was accompanies by lightning, hail and heavy downpours.

In Iowa, a severe storm damaged the Greater Regional Medical Center in Creston Saturday evening. The hospital was evacuated and no serious injuries or fatalities have been reported.

In Kansas, Wichita was under a tornado emergency late Saturday as a large twister moved through south-central Kansas and threatened to destroy homes.

The U.S. weather service on Friday warned of "life-threatening " weather for the region over the weekend.

The tornado season in the United States started early this year. Tornadoes have caused over 50 deaths in the midwest and south states since the beginning of this year.

Earlier this month, about a dozen of tornadoes battered Texas, wounding more than 10 people and causing widespread damage estimated at millions of U.S. dollars.