A possible tornado struck the Oklahoma city of El Reno Saturday night and killed at least two people.
In a news conference early Sunday morning, El Reno mayor Matt White said the storm hit at about 10:30 p.m., and warning sirens sounded at 10:27 p.m.
The storm destroyed an American Budget Value Inn, damaged the nearby Skyview Estates mobile home park and also affected nearby businesses, including a car dealership. White said several individuals have also been hospitalized.
"It is very traumatic — I think you'll see in the daylight," White said. "You'll see how dramatic it is when the daylight shines on it."
White said the mobile home park had 88 homes and rescue efforts were mainly focused on about 15 of them. When asked about how many guests were staying in the motel, White said his team was "trying to run those numbers down."
White described the scene as "horrific; decimated."
El Reno sits 30 miles west of Oklahoma City. According to the 2010 census, its population is about 17,000.
"El Reno has suffered in the last couple of weeks some significant flooding," White said.
This also would not be the first destructive tornado to hit the city in recent years: In 2013, eight people in the El Reno area were killed by a tornado that swept across a broad area of Oklahoma.
"Our first responders are experienced," White said. "They're qualified and our community is very resilient to this."
The El Reno storm is the latest in a spate of deadly weather in the Midwest. Several tornadoes struck Missouri this week, and both Missouri and Oklahoma have been experiencing severe flooding.
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