Two dead in Oklahoma as severe weather hits US South and Midwest

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By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – At least two people, including a child, died in Oklahoma after their vehicle was stranded in flood waters, police said on Sunday, as severe weather and flooding hit parts of the U.S. South and Midwest during the Easter holiday weekend.

“This was a historical weather event that impacted roads and caused dozens of high-water incidents,” police in Moore, Oklahoma, about 11 miles south of Oklahoma City, said in a statement.

“One of (the vehicles) left the roadway and was swept under the bridge. At the time of the incident all but two occupants were rescued. It is with great sadness that we report that two individuals, an adult female and a 12-year-old male, were later located deceased,” they said.

Police in Moore urged people to stay at home and said late on Saturday they responded to over a dozen calls from residents whose vehicles were trapped in high water.

Flood warnings, which suggest that a flood is occurring or is imminent, were in place across Oklahoma.

The National Weather Service said on Sunday severe thunderstorms were expected from east Texas into far southeast Iowa and Illinois while a strong tornado and damaging wind potential will exist from central Arkansas into central Missouri.

A tornado watch was issued for parts of Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, and Oklahoma, the National Weather Service added.

Earlier this month, a deadly spring storm spawned tornadoes and drenching thunderstorms in a swath of the U.S. stretching from Texas to Ohio, with over a dozen people killed in states of the U.S. South and Midwest.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Mary Milliken and Chris Reese)