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Debris litters the area west of Tulsa, Okla., after a tornado swept through the area March 25, 2015. One person died when the twister hit a mobile home park in Sand Springs.(Photo: Matt Barnard, Tulsa World/AP)
An "extremely dangerous" and "life-threatening" tornado swept through eastern Oklahoma early Wednesday evening, killing one person and destroying several mobile homes west of Tulsa, authorities said.
The fatality occurred at Riverside Park Mobile Homes near Sand Springs, where several other residents were injured, the Emergency Medical Services Authority announced about 8 p.m. CT, The Tulsa World reported. One other resident was taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition.
Police said 25 to 30 homes were destroyed when the twister hit about 5:45 p.m. CT, Fox23 reported. Other accounts reported that about a dozen homes were leveled.
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Deputies and Oklahoma State Police were conducting search-and-rescue operations
At a West Tulsa gymnastics studio, 60 people, including many children, took shelter in the basement and escaped serious injury when the storm tore the roof off the building, according to news reports.
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The tornado flipped cars and hit a doughnut shop off U.S. Highway 41 as the storm rolled out of Pawnee County and into Tulsa County. Large hail smashed windows in eastern Pawnee County, homeowners told the station.
Minutes later, the tornado, estimated at about a half-mile wide, battered downtown Tulsa with winds between 80 and 90 mph, KOTV reported. The National Weather Service said the severe storm was moving east at 40 mph.
About 23,000 people in Tulsa County and 2,500 in Osage County lost power.
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Storm clouds over downtown Tulsa, Okla., around evening rush hour March 25, 2015.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Christopher Smith, Tulsa World/AP)
A weak tornado briefly touched down in Moore, near Oklahoma City, which was devastated by a twister in 2013, the National Weather Service said. Cars were overturned on I-35 in Moore, closing the interstate.
There was no immediate reports on damage or injuries.
More than 11,000 Oklahoma City utility customers were without power, The Oklahoman reported.
Severe storms west of Oklahoma whipped up winds of 60 to 70 mph, the weather service in Norman said. A stretch of Interstate 40 was gridlocked because of drivers who had parked under an overpass.
A tornado reportedly touched down in the southwestern Arkansas community of Clifty, but the Madison County sheriff's office could not immediately confirm that.
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