Oklahoma towns begin clean up after destructive storms
maylen
OSAGE COUNTY, Okla. (KFOR) — Oklahomans are cleaning up after a storm tore through towns Monday night.
Gov. Kevin Stitt posted on his X account Tuesday, “Devastating images coming out of Barnsdall, OK this morning. First responders spent the night executing search and rescue operations. Resources are being directed to the area to aid in recovery. I will travel to Barnsdall later this afternoon. Hold them in your prayers!”
According to officials, a large tornado took a damaging hit in and around Barnsdall, and a few miles northwest in Washington County and Bartlesville after the National Weather Service issued a tornado watch Monday.
Barnsdall officials have reported one death after the tornado ripped through the town around 10 p.m. Monday.
Officials are also assessing the extensive storm damage reported in the area, as well as in Bartlesville.
U.S. Sen. James Lankford said on X, “Cindy and I continue to pray for rain for the western part of the state, but we hope that the storms calm for the rest of this spring. Another night of terrible storms for most of the state. My team is tracking the storm damage, but if you were impacted by last night’s storm, please report damage at damage.ok.gov.”
As storm damage continues to be assessed after several confirmed tornados touched down Monday, the final tornado and injury count have not yet been released.
A shelter is open for residents of Barnsdall and other northeast Oklahoma communities affected by Monday night’s tornado. It’s at the Osage County Fairgrounds, 320 Skyline Drive in Pawhuska.
During severe weather, it’s important to stay connected. The free Red Cross Emergency app puts weather alerts and preparedness info at your fingertips in English and Spanish. Get the app for Apple and Android devices at redcross.org/apps or text GETEMERGENCY to 90999.
The Red Cross shelter and all disaster assistance is free.
OG&E is reminding residents to stay away from downed power lines and broken power poles, and damage to cross arms and other equipment connected to power poles.
According to OG&E, as of 11:26 a.m. Tuesday morning, there were around 6,193 customers without service due to the storms. To learn more, visit OG&E’s Outage Map.
