A violent tornado tears through Oklahoma town, damaging 40 homes but sparing lives

ENID, Okla. (AP) — Raeann Hunt scrambled to her cellar as a tornado bore down on her Oklahoma community.

“It is headed right for us,” she recalled thinking, as she peeked outside, unable to contain her curiosity.

Huddled inside the dark 8-by-8 foot (2.44-by-2.44 meters) concrete shelter with her husband, brother-in-law, son and a neighbor, she heard roaring, metal slapping on the door and glass breaking.

Afterward, they emerged unscathed, but found the windows smashed out of the one-story brick home in Enid and the roof badly damaged.

The scene was repeated late Thursday across the city of about 50,000 people about 85 miles north of Oklahoma City. At least 40 homes were damaged, and light damage to a nearby Air Force base was reported. The tornado that hit the city was on the ground for between 30 and 40 minutes, said Rick Smith, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Despite throwing buildings off their foundations, no one was killed in the storm, and only minor injuries were reported.

“People around here have a plan,” Hunt explained, noting that residents of this tornado-alley state are trained to either take shelter in a room near the center of their home or get underground.

Basements aren’t common in Oklahoma because of the red clay soil and elevated water tables that make it difficult and expensive to install them, but many homes — like Hunt's — have storm cellars or safe rooms with reinforced concrete walls where people can take cover.

People here also know to flip on the TV and set up weather alerts on their phones — particularly in the springtime, when the risk of violent twisters is highest.

“Especially in Oklahoma, we have great meteorologists,” said Justin Hunt of Enid, who described the storm's aftermath as a “disaster.”

Storm leaves rubble in its wake

Commercial buildings just south of the city were turned into a pile of twisted metal, splintered wood and insulation by powerful winds that pushed the buildings completely off the concrete foundations.

“Please join me in praying for the Enid community, which has been severely impacted by tonight’s tornado,” Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt posted on social media.

The tornado knocked down utility poles and left power lines wrapped with huge chunks of debris. A home had part of its metal roof torn off and trees were left stripped of bark and limbs. At another home, a section of one wall had peeled away to reveal the interior of the home with some furniture still in place.