London: More tornadoes ploughed through the central US on Monday, ripping apart buildings and knocking out power as people from Texas to Kentucky continued to clean up from days of severe weather that killed more than two dozen people and destroyed thousands of homes and buildings. At least four tornadoes were confirmed in Oklahoma and Nebraska on Monday evening, according to a preliminary report from the National Weather Service.
Across Oklahoma, at least 10 homes were destroyed and multiple buildings were damaged, including a fire station that was wiped out, according to the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management. A spokesperson for the agency said they have not received any reports of injuries or deaths.
Around 115,000 customers were without power in Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri, according to PowerOutage.us. Parts of several highways were also closed due to flooding or storm damage.
In northwest Arkansas, severe weather caused a Halsey concert to be cancelled. And in Oklahoma, Tulsa Public Schools cancelled all after school activities. Northern Texas saw softball-sized hail measuring 11.4 centimetres in diameter, according to Scott Kleebauer, a meteorologist with the service’s Weather Prediction Centre. Earlier Monday in St Louis, where officials estimated a Friday tornado damaged 5,000 buildings and may cost well over USD1 billion, the mayor warned that federal assistance could take weeks.