ELK CITY, Okla. — Residents of an Oklahoma subdivision and a Wisconsin trailer park that were leveled by deadly tornadoes sifted through what remained of their homes and possessions Wednesday, even as forecasters warned of another round of powerful storms on the horizon.
The twisters were among up to 29 that were reportedly spawned by powerful storms that raced through a swath of the central U.S. stretching from Texas to the Great Lakes on Tuesday evening, destroying dozens of homes, killing two people and injuring dozens of others.
The tornadoes, some of them still unverified a day later, touched down in five states: Wisconsin and Oklahoma, which each had one death and about 40 homes destroyed, and Texas, Kansas and Nebraska. The governors of Wisconsin and Oklahoma toured the destruction in their states Wednesday, and residents were allowed to sift through the wreckage.
In Elk City, a community of about 13,000 people roughly 110 miles west of Oklahoma City, Matt Bynum considers himself lucky. Most of his roof is intact, and he lost mainly windows.
The neighborhood buzzed Wednesday with chain saws, generators and a visit from Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin, who called the damage “devastating.”
One man, Bo Mikles, 53, was killed while apparently fleeing his home in his truck, which was thrown several hundred feet, said Danny Ringer, the Elk City Fire Department chaplain.
“It’s heartbreaking and it’s a very trying time for these families when you see the magnitude of the destruction,” Fallin said after touring the damage.
A tornado also ripped through a mobile home park near the northwestern Wisconsin city of Chetek, about 110 miles northeast of Minneapolis. It destroyed dozens of homes, killed a man, Eric Gavin, 46, and injured at least 25 other people, some seriously, authorities said.
One of the tornadoes that touched down Tuesday night destroyed about 20 homes in central Kansas.
Barton County spokeswoman Donna Zimmerman said the tornado that formed near Pawnee Rock remained on the ground for up to 15 miles before dissipating. She said initial reports were that it was more than 400 feet wide, and that it was “very fortunate” that it didn’t strike in a more populated area.
In eastern Nebraska, winds damaged homes, farms and businesses and left thousands of people without electricity. Gusts of 85 mph were recorded at the weather service’s office in Valley, west of Omaha. Lightning blew siding and bricks off a home in Lincoln and a funnel cloud was spotted about 40 miles southwest of the city, but no damage was reported.
In Iowa, the storms damaged homes and other buildings and knocked down trees, limbs and power poles, leaving thousands of people without power. The Iowa State Patrol said the strong winds knocked over some semitrailers on Interstate 29.
