SULPHUR, Okla.—At least four deaths and dozens of injuries are attributed to a storm system that ripped through 12 counties late on April 27, including an estimated EF3 tornado that ripped through Sulphur, Oklahoma, killing one woman and injuring others.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, Oklahoma House Speaker Charles McCall, and state Senate Majority Floor Leader Greg McCortney toured the devastated downtown area on April 28. Mr. Stitt called it “the worst damage” he has seen in six years.
Annie Mack-Vest, director of the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management, said state resources have been mobilized since the system that produced the tornadoes had been predicted on April 26. During a press conference on April 28, Ms. Mack-Vest said Mr. Stitt had declared a state of emergency and taken other steps to ensure that assistance would be available for everyone affected by the storm.
The governor pointed out that the Legislature was still in session and could authorize appropriations for assistance as needed. Mr. McCall and Mr. McCortney agreed.
The website states that 100 injuries had been reported. Ms. Mack-Vest told media gathered in Sulphur that she had no reports of anyone missing but stressed that crews were still searching the wreckage.
According to witnesses, the Sulphur tornado ground a path north through the heart of downtown, flattening businesses and homes, uprooting trees in the Chickasaw National Recreation Area, and flipping cars and trucks at about 10:30 p.m. Mr. Stitt said the timing may have reduced the number of casualties since many of the now-destroyed businesses were closed.
“We are probably blessed that it wasn’t any worse than what it was,” Mr. McCortney said.
Unfortunately, up to 30 patrons were reportedly gathered in Raina’s Sports Lounge when the storm flattened it, Mr. Stitt told reporters. One woman was killed, and several were taken to hospitals. Ms. Mack-Vest confirmed that there were injuries but said she had no details on their severity.
Mr. Stitt said he was told that the scope of the damage indicated that the storm could have been as strong as an F4, although that has not been determined officially.
About two blocks to the east of Raina’s, the historic Artesian hotel escaped serious damage. The brick building towers over a destroyed downtown. A few blocks from the hotel, and minutes before the storm, Cesar Trinidad was closing his business, Delizi Pizza, for the day.
Mr. Trinidad said his cook was starting his pickup truck to drive home when the tornado sirens began to sound. They knew the severe weather was possible but thought the worst of it would pass south of town.
As his cook ran back into the building, Mr. Trinidad turned to run into the kitchen. Less than two minutes after hearing the sirens, Mr. Trinidad said the front windows of his restaurant were blown in by the wind, showering him and his cook with shards of glass, chairs, and tables. He said the wind blew him into the soda fountain at the back of the restaurant.
Mr. Trinidad’s employee sustained cuts and bruises to his back and legs. Although sore and shaken, Mr. Trinidad said he escaped serious injury. On April 28, he surveyed his ravaged store and vehicles.
“I don’t know what we will do,” he said.
A block south of Mr. Trinidad’s establishment was the Sulphur Coin Laundry, which had been running for 25 years. It’s now just a concrete slab with damaged washing machines and an uncertain future. Les Kirby owns the business, and, like his neighbor at the pizza parlor, he said he isn’t sure what he will do.
Mr. Kirby said he would like to rebuild and continue, but looking at the devastation around him on April 28, he said he isn’t sure how long Sulphur’s downtown will take to heal. In addition to the laundromat, he owns rental properties in town, and many of those have also been damaged.
“It could take years to build this all back,” he said.
