100 Tornadoes Hit The Midwest, Leave At Least Five Dead In Oklahoma

More than 100 tornadoes ripped through the Midwest last night, leaving at least five dead in Oklahoma.

The tornadoes leveled houses and left thousands of people without power. According to CBS, at least five people were killed in the storms and dozens more were injured.

Roscoe Hill, the mayor of Woodward, Oklahoma which was hit hardest by the storms, said:

“The loss of five lives really hurts us here. It just kind of hopscotched across our city…. It flattened a couple areas… We’re getting things cleaned up already. Our people here have really worked hard.”

The violent storms were first reported near dawn on Saturday and continued to rage through the night. Tornadoes were reported in Kansas, Iowa, and Nebraska.

The Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, warned about a “high-end, life threatening event” two days before the storms. According to CBS, it is only the second time in US history that the center has issued the high-risk warning more than 24 hours in advance.

Michelann Ooten, an Oklahoma emergency management official, said that rescue workers are currently searching through rubble for more survivors. Ooten said:

“They’re still going door to door and in some cases, there are piles of rubble and they are having to sift through the rubble.”

The NY Daily News reports that there have been any reports of damage across Kansas, Iowa, and Nebraska, but no reports of people being critically injured.