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EL RENO, Oklahoma – A destructive tornado hit Saturday night in the suburb of El Reno in Oklahoma City, killing at least two people, demolishing a motel and destroying most of a trailer park and d & # 39; 39, a car dealership just days after the city was hit by a widespread attack. flood.
The brief tornado ravaged El Reno, a predominantly rural suburb of about 17,000 people located about 25 km west of Oklahoma City shortly before 11 pm.
Matt White, Mayor of El Reno, said two people had been killed during the tornado. Photos posted on social media by passers-by and reporters showed that parts of the motel, the American Budget Value Inn, appeared to be almost level. The mayor said the majority of the motel's second story was "not here."
The officials were unsure of the number of guests staying at the motel. "We are trying to reduce those numbers now," White said.
"It's a pretty devastating show at this point," he told reporters at a press conference early Sunday morning, adding, "You'll see how dramatic it is to see the light of day."
The tornado sirens sounded at 22:27. Saturday in El Reno, said the mayor. At 10:31 am, the tornado struck, damaging a southeastern part of the city, near Interstate 40. The trailer park has 88 mobile home sites, White said, and the efforts Search and Rescue focused on debris-strewn ground. area of about 15 sites.
The mayor, who has always resided in El Reno, said rescuers were looking for survivors in the rubble. "We are all on the bridge," White said, adding, "Pray for our community. We have gone through a lot of things here lately.
A local television reporter, Aaron Brilbeck of the CBS subsidiary News 9, showed the strength of the storm as it crossed the city, posting Twitter: "The hotel in front of us has been shaved. The victims are removed from the rubble.
In a convenience store called Domino, located opposite the motel, the assistant director, Jeffrey Pointer, said the evening had started quietly, with just a shower of rain.
"But then it started to sink," said Pointer. "The rain was blowing aside. You could not see anything. "
The wind was blowing so hard that the windows began to shake. The power was turned off and an emergency generator started. Then, as fast as it had started, the roaring wind calmed down, leaving only the rain in its wake.
The store's phones started ringing, he said. The callers asked if everyone in the store was fine. Then people started to walk soaked. Some did not have shirts, said Mr. Pointer. Some were injured. He said that a man came to him with his bleeding arm.
He said, "Can you call me an ambulance? I am really hurt, "said Pointer.
On Sunday, in the darkness of dawn, the motel's rubble was lit by mobile emergency lights and the flashing red and blue lights of police and fire vehicles. Jagged vehicles and mobile homes came out of the debris. At the front of the motel, a staircase led to a second torn floor.
A tornado also hit the small town of Sapulpa, more than 120 km east of El Reno. The police department has posted a message on his Facebook page stating that there was no death report and only a few minor injuries. The buildings in the city center "suffered significant damage," the police wrote.
Oklahoma has been shaken by scattered tornadoes and heavy rains in recent days. Storms flooded the Arkansas River in eastern Oklahoma, forcing officials to release large amounts of water from the Keystone Dam. But none of the tornadoes that hit the ground had caused significant damage or death in residential areas before the one that hit El Reno late Saturday.
The tornado hit a few days before the sixth anniversary of one of the worst tornadoes ever to hit El Reno. On May 31, 2013, an unusually large EF-3 tornado – the fourth on Fujita's improved scale, with the EF-5 being the most powerful – ravaged the region. El Reno and killed eight people.
Among those who died are three The storm hunters, including Tim Samaras, who was known for his appearances on the reality show "Storm Chasers".
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