A woman and her baby are among five people reported killed in the second deadly storm system to hit a US region in less than two weeks.
Oklahoma Highway Patrol said the mother and her child died in the Oklahoma City area on Friday evening local time, as thunderstorms and tornadoes passed through.
The state’s medical examiners office were quoted by the AP news agency as saying five people had been killed in the latest storms.
At least 40 to 50 people were being treated for injuries suffered in the storms, including five patients in critical
condition, according to hospital services.
Tornadoes hit Oklahoma City on Friday evening, smashing vehicles along a major highway during rush hour. The highway patrol said a few motorists were missing.
Highway Patrol Trooper Betsy Randolph said troopers found the bodies of the woman and baby near a vehicle along Interstate 40 west of the city.
Flights cancelled
High winds were forecast for Moore, the suburb where a top-of-the-scale tornado killed 24 on May 20.
Storm chasers were transmitting video showing a number of funnels dropping from the supercell thunderstorm as it passed into Oklahoma City.
Passengers at Will Rogers World Airport were directed into underground tunnels, and inbound and outbound flights were cancelled.
Television cameras showed debris falling from the sky. Forecasters warned of a “particularly dangerous situation.”
The region is in part of the Midwest US known as Tornado Alley.
Floodwaters up to 4 feet deep hampered rescue attempts.
Lara O’Leary, a spokeswoman for the local ambulance agency, said the damage was “very, very widespread”.
But meteorologists said the fury of Friday’s storm didn’t match that of the one that struck Moore.
“Not even close,” Rick Smith, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service, said.
