1 killed as apparent tornado hits southern Oklahoma town
MADILL, Okla. — One person was killed Wednesday when an apparent tornado that damaged at least two businesses tore through Marshall County in southern Oklahoma.
Another damaging storm, also an apparent tornado, swept through a Southeast Texas county, causing widespread damage.
The Oklahoma storm hit Madill, near the Red River, about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, causing widespread damage to the town, including its residential neighborhoods, said Donny Raley, the city’s emergency manager.
The person’s body was found about a quarter-mile from J&I Manufacturing, a trailer factory about 6 miles (10 kilometers) southwest of Madill, Marshall County Emergency Management Director Robert Chaney said. Chaney said he had no other information on the person, but said the suspected twister hit the plant just as its workforce was leaving for the day and caused severe damage.
The storm also hit the Oklahoma Steel and Wire plant, a fence wire manufacturer on the south side of Madill, the county seat of Marshall County and home to about 4,000 residents.
The apparent tornado in Southeast Texas touched down about 6 p.m. Wednesday near Onalaska, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) north of Houston. The storm rumbled east through Seven Oaks. The storm caused severe damage to homes and other structures, but there were no immediate reports of deaths or serious injuries, said Carrie Miller, a spokeswoman for Polk County Judge Sydney Murphy.
A National Weather Service team will be dispatched to survey damage and to confirm whether the storms were tornadoes.