Devastating tornadoes in the US plains have injured a dozen, knocked out power for thousands

By Brendan O’Brien

CHICAGO (Reuters) – A string of tornadoes roared through Oklahoma and Kansas overnight, leaving a trail of damaged structures and overturned vehicles, and injuring a dozen or more and knocking out power to tens of thousands of homes and businesses.

Police in Norman, Oklahoma, said 12 people were taken to the hospital after the storm swept through and near the city of 128,000 residents around 11 p.m. local time Sunday. None of the injuries were life-threatening, police said.

“A lot of really strong winds,” George Reich, a homeowner in Shawnee, a town east of Oklahoma City, told an ABC affiliate. “Wood and debris started flying. I quickly jumped into the back seat of a car in the garage.”

Police also said several roads were closed due to downed power lines and debris. About 12,000 homes and businesses were without power across Oklahoma, Poweroutage.us reported.

Video footage and photographs of the devastation on local news and social media showed power lines resting in the middle of streets, debris strewn across neighborhoods and roofs torn off buildings. One photo shows a red sedan overturned and resting on top of another car.

A total of nine tornadoes were reported in Kansas and Oklahoma, the National Weather Service said.

The rough weather followed days of winter storms across the U.S. Plains, Midwest and Great Lakes region. More than 130,000 Michigan homes and businesses were without power Monday, according to PowerOutage.US.

Monday’s national forecast calls for winds of up to 110 miles per hour (177 km/h) across the U.S. plains, along with strong winter storms in California, the upper Midwest and New England.

Parts of California spent the weekend dealing with heavy snowfall at higher elevations, rain and hail on the plains and freezing temperatures in parts of the state known for its mild weather.

(Reporting by Brendan O’Brien in Chicago, Editing by Angus McSwan)