EL RENO, Okla. -- A powerful EF-3 tornado tore through a city in Oklahoma, killing at least two people and injuring at least 29, authorities said. Some of the injured are in critical condition.

A mobile home park in El Reno was "devastated," Mayor Matt White said.

"It's a lot of devastation here, it's leveled, it's just devastated, White said in a phone interview with CNN. "It's tore all to pieces, it was terrible."

Officials were going door to door to find victims and assess the damage after it touched down in the city late Saturday night. A search and rescue operation is still underway, White said at a press conference Sunday morning.

El Reno, with a population of about 19,000, is about 29 miles west of Oklahoma City.

Rachel Garrison was in a mobile home when the storm hit, according to CNN affiliate KOCO.

"I heard it coming," she told the station.

The next thing she felt, Garrison said, was another trailer flipping over onto the one her family was in.

"After everything was over with and all the shaking and jarring, the sirens went off," Garrison told the station.

The park had 88 mobile homes, White said, and "We're looking at basically under 15, under 16 trailers were the ones involved in the tornado."

The mayor said the sirens went off at 10:27 p.m., and according to the information he had, the storm touched down four minutes later.

In addition to the mobile home park, a hotel was damaged, Fire Chief Kent Lagaly said.

All guests have been accounted for, the hotel's owner Ramesh Patel said. One employee broke a leg and is being treated at a hospital, he said.

The tornado was rated EF-3 on the Enhanced Fujita scale, the National Weather Service in Norman, Oklahoma, said on Twitter after completing its survey of the damage in El Reno. The twister lasted only 4 minutes, the service said.

Only about 5% of all tornadoes are rated EF-3 or higher, according to CNN meteorologist Brandon Miller. An EF-3 rating indicates maximum wind speeds of 160 mph.

The tornado hit as Oklahoma and other parts of the Midwest were still reeling from a deadly spring storm system that has resulted in more than 170 reported tornadoes plus strong winds, flash flooding and hail.

In Oklahoma, two people died in the flooding and storms, and 87 others were injured, the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management said in a press release. Across the central US, 10 people were killed and a 4-year-old boy is missing.

On Friday, a state official said floods were believed to have impacted at least 1,000 homes, especially in northeastern Oklahoma around the swollen Arkansas River.

Gov. Kevin Stitt on Friday amended an earlier executive order to declare a state of emergency in all 77 counties across the state due to the severe weather. </s> JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A tornado caused heavy damage in Missouri's capital city as severe weather swept across the state overnight, causing at least three deaths and injuring nearly two dozen people as homes and businesses were ripped apart.

The National Weather Service confirmed that the large and destructive tornado moved over Jefferson City shortly before midnight on Wednesday.

"Across the state, Missouri's first responders once again responded quickly and with strong coordination as much of the state dealt with extremely dangerous conditions that left people injured, trapped in homes, and tragically led to the death of three people," Gov. Mike Parson said.

Missouri Public Safety said the three were killed in the Golden City area of Barton County, near Missouri's southwest corner, as the severe weather moved in from Oklahoma, where rescuers struggled to pull people from high water. The tornado hit during a week that has seen several days of tornadoes and torrential rains in parts of the Southern Plains and Midwest.

The damage spanned about a 3-mile area in the state capital, Jefferson City Police Lt. David Williams said. About 20 people were rescued by emergency personnel, and although there were no reports of missing people, authorities planned to make door-to-door checks on Thursday, he said.

The weather service reported that a "confirmed large and destructive tornado" was observed over Jefferson City at 11:43 p.m. Wednesday, moving northeast at 40 mph (64 kph). The capital city has a population of about 40,000 and is located about 130 miles (209 kilometers) west of St. Louis.

"It's a chaotic situation right now," Williams said.

Williams spoke from the Cole County Sheriff's office, where debris including insulation, roofing shingles and metal pieces lay on the ground outside the front doors. Authorities were discouraging people from beginning clean-up efforts until power is safely restored. Area hospitals set up command centers in case the need arises.

Missouri Public Safety tweeted that there was a possibility of more tornadoes and flash flooding.

Austin Thomson, 25, was in the laundry room of his complex of two-story apartment buildings to do his wash and noticed the wind started picking up. He saw sheets of rain coming down and a flagpole bend and then slam to the ground. The windows broke and he dove behind the washers and dryers.

After it calmed down, he walked outside to check the damage, and retrieved a stuffed animal for his daughter from his damaged apartment.

"There's basically one building that's basically one story now," he said.

The weather service said it had received 22 reports of tornadoes by late Wednesday; some could be duplicate reporting of the same twister.

One tornado skirted just a few miles north of Joplin, Missouri, on the eighth anniversary of a catastrophic tornado that killed 161 people in the city. The tornado caused some damage in the town of Carl Junction, about 4 miles (6.44 kilometers) north of the Joplin airport, where several injuries were reported.

The severe weather was expected to continue Thursday as the storms head east. Forecasters at the Storm Prediction Center say parts of the Ohio Valley and the Mid-Atlantic could see tornadoes, large hail and strong winds. Forecasters say the area most at risk for bad weather Thursday includes Baltimore and Pittsburgh.

Storms and torrential rains have ravaged the Midwest, from Texas through Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and Illinois. Authorities urged residents of several small towns in Oklahoma and Kansas to leave their homes as rivers and streams rose.

Two barges broke loose and floated swiftly down the swollen Arkansas River in eastern Oklahoma, spreading alarm downstream as they threatened to hit a dam. A posting on the official Facebook page of the river town of Webbers Falls, Oklahoma, said the runaway barges posed a dire threat to its 600 residents: "Evacuate Webbers Falls immediately. The barges are loose and has the potential to hit the lock and dam 16. If the dam breaks, it will be catastrophic!! Leave now!!"

Authorities located the barges Thursday morning, stuck on rocks in the swollen river. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol says the barges were still tied together, and crews were working to secure them.

Still, the Interstate 40 bridge and a state highway bridge remain closed over the Arkansas River at Webbers Falls as a precaution, according to the Oklahoma Department of Transportation. Over Memorial Day weekend in 2002, a barge struck the Interstate 40 bridge pier at Webbers Falls, causing part of the bridge to collapse into the Arkansas River. Fourteen people died after their vehicles plunged into the water.

Deaths from this week's storms include a 74-year-old woman found early Wednesday morning in Iowa. Officials there say she was killed by a possible tornado that damaged a farmstead in Adair County. Missouri authorities said heavy rain was a contributing factor in the deaths of two people in a traffic accident Tuesday near Springfield.

A fourth weather-related death occurred in Oklahoma, where the Highway Patrol said a woman apparently drowned after driving around a barricade Tuesday near Perkins, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) northeast of Oklahoma City. The unidentified woman's body was sent to the state medical examiner's office, which confirmed Wednesday that the death was attributed to the flooding. </s> JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. >> A tornado tore apart buildings in Missouri’s capital city as part of an overnight outbreak of severe weather across the state that left at least three people dead and dozens injured.

The National Weather Service confirmed that the large and destructive twister moved over Jefferson City shortly before midnight Wednesday.

“Across the state, Missouri’s first responders once again responded quickly and with strong coordination as much of the state dealt with extremely dangerous conditions that left people injured, trapped in homes, and tragically led to the death of three people,” Gov. Mike Parson said.

The tornado cut a path about 3 miles long and a mile wide from the south end of Jefferson City north toward the Missouri River, said police Lt. David Williams. Emergency workers reported about two dozen injuries, Williams said, and dozens of people were in shelters. Hospitals reported treating injuries such as cuts and bruises.

There were no immediate reports of any deaths or missing people in the capital city of about 40,000, but door-to-door checks were ongoing as of late morning.

Weather forecasters had been tracking the storm before it arrived in the capital city, and sirens first sounded in Jefferson City at 11:10 p.m. — about 30 minutes before the first property damage. Parson credited the warning system in central Missouri for saving lives.

The three deaths happened more than 150 miles away near Golden City in Missouri’s southwestern corner.

Kenneth Harris, 86, and his 83-year-old wife, Opal, were found dead about 200 yards from their home, and Betty Berg, 56, was killed and her husband, Mark, seriously injured when their mobile home was destroyed, authorities said.

National Weather Service meteorologist Cory Rothstein said it’s possible that tornado had a 50-mile path and could have been on the ground for 80 minutes. Teams were surveying the path today and trying to determine whether one or multiple tornadoes had touched down.

The severe weather moved in from Oklahoma, where rescuers struggled to pull people from high water. This week has seen several days of twisters and torrential rains in the Southern Plains and Midwest.

Kerry Ann Demetrius locked herself in the bathroom of her Jefferson City apartment as the storm approached.

“It sounded like stuff was being thrown around, everything was just banging together, and then it just went dead silent,” she said. She emerged to find the roof had been blown off her apartment building.

Austin Thomson, 25, was in the laundry room of his complex of two-story apartment buildings in Jefferson City when he saw sheets of rain coming down and a flagpole bend and slam to the ground in the wind. The windows broke, and he dove behind the washers and dryers.

After the storm had passed, he went outside to see the damage: “There’s basically one building that’s basically one story now.”

At the Cole County Sheriff’s office in Jefferson City, insulation, shingles and metal pieces lay on the ground outside the front doors.

Jefferson City school district offices were closed because many of its buildings were without power and sustained damage overnight. The state high school track championships scheduled this weekend in the city were moved to different sites in central Missouri, after the Missouri State High School Activities Association issued a release that warned, “Do not travel to Jefferson City.”

The weather service had received 22 reports of tornadoes by late Wednesday, though some may have been duplicate sightings of the same twister.

A tornado also skipped through the town of Eldon, population 4,900, about 30 miles outside Jefferson City, where it damaged the business district and “tore up several neighborhoods,” Miller County Emergency Management Director Mike Rayhart said.

He said several people were injured seriously enough to be sent to the hospital, but he did not have specifics.

A twister also caused damage and several injuries in the town of Carl Junction, not far from Joplin, on the eighth anniversary of the catastrophic tornado that killed 161 people in that city.

The severe weather was expected to push eastward today, with forecasters saying parts of the Ohio Valley and the mid-Atlantic — including Baltimore and Pittsburgh — could see tornadoes, large hail and strong winds.

Storms and torrential rains have ravaged the Midwest, from Texas through Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and Illinois, in the past few days.

Two barges carrying a total of about 3,800 pounds of fertilizer broke loose today and floated down the swollen Arkansas River in Oklahoma, spreading alarm downstream as they hit a dam and sank. On Facebook, Webbers Falls, Oklahoma, warned the town’s 600 residents: “If the dam breaks, it will be catastrophic!! Leave now!!”

The barges had been floating out of control, on and off again, since Wednesday night near the town of 600, which was under a mandatory evacuation order due to flooding concerns. Aerial footage from the Oklahoma City television station KFOR showed the moment of impact shortly before noon today.

The Interstate 40 bridge and another span over the river were closed as a precaution. Over Memorial Day weekend in 2002, a barge struck the Interstate 40 bridge pier at Webbers Falls, causing part of the bridge to collapse into the Arkansas River. Fourteen people died after their vehicles plunged into the water.

Missouri’s three tornado fatalities bring to seven the number of deaths from storms this week. </s> A tornado touched down in Jefferson City as severe weather swept across Missouri overnight, killing three people and leaving others trapped in the wreckage of their homes.

The U.S. National Weather Service reported a "confirmed large and destructive tornado" was observed over Jefferson City at 11:43 p.m. local time Wednesday, moving northeast at 64 km/h. The capital city is 210 kilometres west of St. Louis.

"Across the state, Missouri's first responders once again responded quickly and with strong co-ordination as much of the state dealt with extremely dangerous conditions that left people injured, trapped in homes, and tragically led to the death of three people," Gov. Mike Parson said.

"I want our responders and all the neighbours who acted selflessly to help their neighbours to know how much their heroic efforts are appreciated by all Missourians."

Missouri Public Safety confirmed in a tweet that three people were killed in the Golden City area of Barton County, and several injured in the Carl Junction area of Jasper County.

Watch this video of a tornado in Carl Junction, Mo., that was posted on social media on Wednesday:

The damage spanned about a five-kilometre area in the state capital, Jefferson City police Lt. David Williams said. About 20 people were rescued by emergency personnel, and although there were no reports of missing people, authorities planned to make door-to-door checks on Thursday, he said.

"It's a chaotic situation right now," Williams said.

He spoke from the Cole County Sheriff's office, where debris including insulation, roofing shingles and metal pieces lay on the ground outside the front doors. Authorities were discouraging people from beginning cleanup efforts until power is safely restored.

Area hospitals did not see an immediate influx of patients with injuries but set up command centres in case the need arises.

"We have four patients with minor injuries," said Jessica Royston, spokesperson at St. Mary's Health Centre.

Power outages were being reported in parts of the city. Missouri Public Safety tweeted that there was a possibility of more tornadoes and flash flooding.

Austin Thomson, 25, was in the laundry room of his apartment complex to do his wash and noticed that the wind started picking up. He saw sheets of rain coming down and a flagpole bend and then slam to the ground. The windows broke and he dove behind the washers and dryers.

After it calmed down, he walked outside to check the damage.

"There's basically one building that's basically one story now. Every building there is two stories."

The National Weather Service said it had received 22 reports of tornadoes by late Wednesday evening, although some of those could be duplicate reporting of the same twister.

One tornado skirted just a few kilometres north of Joplin, Mo., on the eighth anniversary of a catastrophic tornado that killed 161 people in the city. That tornado caused some damage in the town of Carl Junction, about six kilometres north of the Joplin airport.

The severe weather was expected to continue Thursday as the storms head east. Forecasters at the Storm Prediction Centre say parts of the Ohio Valley and the Mid-Atlantic could see tornadoes, large hail and strong winds. Forecasters say the area most at risk for bad weather Thursday includes Baltimore and Pittsburgh.

Storms and torrential rains have ravaged the Midwest, from Texas through Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and Illinois.

Two barges broke loose and floated swiftly down the swollen Arkansas River in eastern Oklahoma, spreading alarm downstream as they threatened to hit a dam. A posting on the official Facebook page of the river town of Webbers Falls, Okla., said the runaway barges posed a dire threat to its 600 residents.

Authorities located the barges Thursday morning, stuck on rocks in the swollen river. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol says the barges were still tied together and crews were working to secure them.

Still, the Interstate 40 bridge and a state highway bridge remain closed over the Arkansas River at Webbers Falls as a precaution, according to the Oklahoma Department of Transportation. Over Memorial Day weekend in 2002, a barge struck the Interstate 40 bridge pier at Webbers Falls, causing part of the bridge to collapse into the Arkansas River. Fourteen people died after their vehicles plunged into the water.

Deaths from this week's storms include a 74-year-old woman found early Wednesday morning in Iowa. Officials there say she was killed by a possible tornado that damaged a farmstead in Adair County.

Missouri authorities said heavy rain was a contributing factor in the deaths of two people in a traffic accident Tuesday near Springfield.

A fourth weather-related death occurred in Oklahoma, where the Highway Patrol said a woman apparently drowned after driving around a barricade Tuesday near Perkins, about 72 kilometres northeast of Oklahoma City. The unidentified woman's body was sent to the state medical examiner's office, which confirmed Wednesday that the death was attributed to the flooding. </s> At least 10 people were killed and dozens more were injured after severe storms that included powerful tornadoes hit the South, including Arkansas, Missouri and a region of Texas east of Dallas, officials said.

At least four tornadoes touched down in east Texas on Saturday afternoon and evening, the National Weather Service said.

Canton, Texas, Mayor Lou Ann Everett said Sunday that at least four people were killed and 49 others were injured but that the situation was “very fluid” and could change.

“The damage was extensive. It is heartbreaking,” she said.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the damage was “devastating” during a news conference with local officials Sunday afternoon.

“You saw homes and other buildings that were incompletely flattened, as well as others that were nothing more than rubble,” he said, adding that he saw “large swath after large swath of devastation.”

In lieu of clothes, Abbot said people should donate money to help those affected by the storm — or even a warehouse for first responders to hold supplies.

Everett had told NBC News in a phone interview Saturday night that five people were believed to have been killed. Power was also knocked out and the full scope of the damage was not yet known, she said.

“We won’t know what exactly we are dealing with until the sun comes up,” Everett said. “We have no power. We have three major transmission stations that are damaged.”

East Texas Medical Center previously reported that 52 people were being treated at three hospitals because of the severe weather and that one of those patients was in critical condition.

Video taken from the scene showed tornadoes touching down and thunder. Dozens of cars were overturned on Interstate 20, east of Canton, NBC Dallas-Fort Worth reported. The tornadoes hit in Henderson and Van Zandt counties, according to the weather service.

Desirae Rasmussen of Canton survived the tornado, but her home was seriously damaged. “Every last one of us walked away. But we have nothing left down there,” Rasmussen told NBCDFW.

“We were all sitting in the hallway and the roof collapsed on us. By the time it was all over, we went outside. We had a three-level house, and we’re down to the last level, and half of that roof is gone,” she said.

The tornadoes in Texas occurred as storms swept across the parts of the South and Midwest on Saturday, with flash flood warnings in place for a swath stretching from eastern Oklahoma to western Kentucky and parts of Illinois.

In Missouri on Saturday, a woman drowned after the car she was in was swept away by floodwaters in Clever, a town about 20 miles southwest of Springfield, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said. The husband of Madelaine Krueger, 72,tried to rescue her before the vehicle was swept away but was unsuccessful, the highway patrol said.

In Mississippi, two storm-related deaths were reported Sunday, in Holmes County and Rankin County, where a child died from electric shock in floodwaters, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said. No details of the Holmes County death were immediately available.

“We’re having major flooding like I’ve never seen since I’ve been here in town,” Neosho, Missouri, Mayor Ben Baker said. Vehicles in the town of 12,000 south of Joplin were pushed by floodwaters into trees and homes after creeks spilled over their banks.

In Arkansas, a person was killed after a tree fell onto a mobile home in Dewitt, Arkansas County Emergency Management spokeswoman Whitney Green said.

And a 10-year-old girl was killed after being swept away by rushing waters in Springdale, Arkansas, on Saturday, police said on Sunday.

The Cleburne County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Sunday afternoon that Cove Creek Pearson Fire Chief Doug Deckard died during a “tragic accident” while serving in the middle of a torrential thunderstorm.

On the other side of the state in Fayetteville, authorities said they conducted 20 water rescues Saturday after flooding there.

And in Madison County, Arkansas, authorities were looking for two children — a 4-year-old boy and an 18-month-old girl — who were missing after being separated from their mother as her car got stuck in high water on Saturday night. Authorities said on Sunday that the search for the missing toddlers had become a recovery operation.

Oklahoma declared a state of emergency on Saturday. Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin’s office said there was widespread flooding in Cherokee County, where there were 14 water rescues Saturday, and flooding in Adair County. Baseball-size hail fell west of the town of Cameron, damaging power lines.

More than 12,000 customers in central Oklahoma were without electricity as of Saturday evening, utility OGE Energy Corp. said.

Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens declared a state of emergency for his state on Friday, NBC affiliate KSDK of St. Louis reported. Abbott said a task force was being sent to help Texas communities affected by the tornadoes and severe weather. </s> Likely Tornado Kills At Least 2 In Oklahoma

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. </s> EL RENO, Okla. — A tornado destroyed a motel and killed at least two people and in the Oklahoma City suburb of El Reno overnight Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.

Meteorologist Rick Smith in Norman told The Associated Press that the suspected twister hit El Reno on Saturday night as a powerful storm system rolled through the state. Crews will arrive on the scene Sunday to determine with severity of the damage to the town just west of Oklahoma City.

The American Budget Value Inn was destroyed by the storm. Images at the scene showed emergency crews sifting through the rubble after part of the motel's second story collapsed into a pile of debris strewn about the first floor and parking lot.

El Reno Mayor Matt White confirmed at least two fatalities from the storm and an unknown number of persons missing. The identities of the victims has not been revealed.

Trailers at a mobile home park adjacent to the motel were also damaged, as was part of a nearby car dealership.

The mayor described the scene at the mobile home park as "horrific," and "decimated," during a news conference.

Elsewhere, overturned cars and twisted metal could be seen briefly as intermittent lightning flashed across the sky and the wailing sirens of approaching emergency vehicles could be heard in the distance.

The deadly storm comes just days after the area was hit by widespread flooding.

"We have absolutely experienced a traumatic event," White said during a news conference early Sunday. "We've had an incident where a tornado has basically hit a mobile home park and a hotel, and some other local businesses."

White said several people were transported to hospitals in Oklahoma City, but did not give an exact number.

"We're doing a search and rescue right now... we have all hands on deck," he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. </s> JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A tornado caused heavy damage in Missouri's capital city as severe weather swept across the state overnight, causing at least three deaths and injuring nearly two dozen people as homes and businesses were ripped apart.

The National Weather Service confirmed that the large and destructive tornado moved over Jefferson City shortly before midnight on Wednesday.

"Across the state, Missouri's first responders once again responded quickly and with strong coordination as much of the state dealt with extremely dangerous conditions that left people injured, trapped in homes, and tragically led to the death of three people," Governor Mike Parson said.

Missouri Public Safety said the three were killed in the Golden City area of Barton County, near Missouri's southwest corner, as the severe weather moved in from Oklahoma, where rescuers struggled to pull people from high water. The tornado hit during a week that has seen several days of tornadoes and torrential rains in parts of the Southern Plains and Midwest.

No deaths were reported in the capital, but Jefferson City Police Lt. David Williams said about 20 people were rescued by emergency personnel.

The weather service reported that a "confirmed large and destructive tornado" was observed over Jefferson City at 11:43 p.m. Wednesday, moving northeast at 40 mph (64 kph). The capital city has a population of about 40,000 and is located about 130 miles (209 kilometers) west of St. Louis.

"It's a chaotic situation right now," Williams said.

Williams spoke from the Cole County Sheriff's office, where debris including insulation, roofing shingles and metal pieces lay on the ground outside the front doors. Authorities were discouraging people from beginning clean-up efforts until power is safely restored. Area hospitals set up command centers in case the need arises.

Missouri Public Safety tweeted that there was a possibility of more tornadoes and flash flooding.

Austin Thomson, 25, was in the laundry room of his complex of two-story apartment buildings to do his wash and noticed the wind started picking up. He saw sheets of rain coming down and a flagpole bend and then slam to the ground. The windows broke and he dove behind the washers and dryers.

After it calmed down, he walked outside to check the damage, and retrieved a stuffed animal for his daughter from his damaged apartment.

"There's basically one building that's basically one story now," he said.

The weather service said it had received 22 reports of tornadoes by late Wednesday; some could be duplicate reporting of the same twister.

One tornado skirted just a few miles north of Joplin, Missouri, on the eighth anniversary of a catastrophic tornado that killed 161 people in the city. The tornado caused some damage in the town of Carl Junction, about 4 miles (6.44 kilometers) north of the Joplin airport, where several injuries were reported.

Storms and torrential rains have ravaged the Midwest, from Texas through Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and Illinois.

Two barges broke loose and floated swiftly down the swollen Arkansas River in eastern Oklahoma on Wednesday, spreading alarm downstream as they threatened to hit a dam.

Authorities urged residents of several small towns in Oklahoma and Kansas to leave their homes as rivers and streams rose.

The Arkansas River town of Webbers Falls, Oklahoma, was one such town. Town officials ordered a mandatory evacuation Wednesday afternoon because of the river's rising level.

But Wednesday evening, a posting on the town's official Facebook page sounded the alarm about the runaway barges for its 600 residents: "Evacuate Webbers Falls immediately. The barges are loose and has the potential to hit the lock and dam 16. If the dam breaks, it will be catastrophic!! Leave now!!"

There was no word by midnight Wednesday where the barges were on the river, but local television stations showing live video of the river and the lock and dam said they had not yet arrived.

The Arkansas River was approaching historic highs, while the already high Missouri and Mississippi Rivers were again rising after a multi-day stretch of storms that produced dozens of tornadoes. Forecasters predicted parts of Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas could see more severe weather on Thursday.

Deaths from this week's storms include a 74-year-old woman found early Wednesday morning in Iowa. Officials there say she was killed by a possible tornado that damaged a farmstead in Adair County. Missouri authorities said heavy rain was a contributing factor in the deaths of two people in a traffic accident Tuesday near Springfield.

A fourth weather-related death may have occurred in Oklahoma, where the Highway Patrol said a woman apparently drowned after driving around a barricade Tuesday near Perkins, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) northeast of Oklahoma City. The unidentified woman's body was sent to the state medical examiner's office to confirm the cause of death. Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management spokeswoman Keli Cain said she isn't yet listed as what would be the state's first storm-related death. </s> JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A tornado caused heavy damage in Missouri's capital city as severe weather swept across the state overnight, causing at least three deaths and injuring nearly two dozen people as homes and businesses were ripped apart.

The National Weather Service confirmed that the large and destructive tornado moved over Jefferson City shortly before midnight on Wednesday.

"Across the state, Missouri's first responders once again responded quickly and with strong coordination as much of the state dealt with extremely dangerous conditions that left people injured, trapped in homes, and tragically led to the death of three people," Governor Mike Parson said.

Missouri Public Safety said the three were killed in the Golden City area of Barton County, near Missouri's southwest corner, as the severe weather moved in from Oklahoma, where rescuers struggled to pull people from high water. The tornado hit during a week that has seen several days of tornadoes and torrential rains in parts of the Southern Plains and Midwest.

No deaths were reported in the capital, but Jefferson City Police Lt. David Williams said about 20 people were rescued by emergency personnel.

The weather service reported that a "confirmed large and destructive tornado" was observed over Jefferson City at 11:43 p.m. Wednesday, moving northeast at 40 mph (64 kph). The capital city has a population of about 40,000 and is located about 130 miles (209 kilometers) west of St. Louis.

"It's a chaotic situation right now," Williams said.

Williams spoke from the Cole County Sheriff's office, where debris including insulation, roofing shingles and metal pieces lay on the ground outside the front doors. Authorities were discouraging people from beginning clean-up efforts until power is safely restored. Area hospitals set up command centers in case the need arises.

Missouri Public Safety tweeted that there was a possibility of more tornadoes and flash flooding.

Austin Thomson, 25, was in the laundry room of his complex of two-story apartment buildings to do his wash and noticed the wind started picking up. He saw sheets of rain coming down and a flagpole bend and then slam to the ground. The windows broke and he dove behind the washers and dryers.

After it calmed down, he walked outside to check the damage, and retrieved a stuffed animal for his daughter from his damaged apartment.

"There's basically one building that's basically one story now," he said.

The National Weather Service said it had received 22 reports of tornadoes by late Wednesday, although some of those could be duplicate reporting of the same twister.

One tornado skirted just a few miles north of Joplin, Missouri, on the eighth anniversary of a catastrophic tornado that killed 161 people in the city. The tornado caused some damage in the town of Carl Junction, about 4 miles (6.44 kilometers) north of the Joplin airport, where several injuries were reported.

Storms and torrential rains have ravaged the Midwest, from Texas through Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and Illinois.

Two barges broke loose and floated swiftly down the swollen Arkansas River in eastern Oklahoma on Wednesday, spreading alarm downstream as they threatened to hit a dam.

Authorities urged residents of several small towns in Oklahoma and Kansas to leave their homes as rivers and streams rose.

The Arkansas River town of Webbers Falls, Oklahoma, was one such town. Town officials ordered a mandatory evacuation Wednesday afternoon because of the river's rising level.

But Wednesday evening, a posting on the town's official Facebook page sounded the alarm about the runaway barges for its 600 residents: "Evacuate Webbers Falls immediately. The barges are loose and has the potential to hit the lock and dam 16. If the dam breaks, it will be catastrophic!! Leave now!!"

There was no word by midnight Wednesday where the barges were on the river, but local television stations showing live video of the river and the lock and dam said they had not yet arrived.

The Arkansas River was approaching historic highs, while the already high Missouri and Mississippi Rivers were again rising after a multi-day stretch of storms that produced dozens of tornadoes. Forecasters predicted parts of Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas could see more severe weather on Thursday.

Deaths from this week's storms include a 74-year-old woman found early Wednesday morning in Iowa. Officials there say she was killed by a possible tornado that damaged a farmstead in Adair County. Missouri authorities said heavy rain was a contributing factor in the deaths of two people in a traffic accident Tuesday near Springfield.

A fourth weather-related death may have occurred in Oklahoma, where the Highway Patrol said a woman apparently drowned after driving around a barricade Tuesday near Perkins, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) northeast of Oklahoma City. The unidentified woman's body was sent to the state medical examiner's office to confirm the cause of death. Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management spokeswoman Keli Cain said she isn't yet listed as what would be the state's first storm-related death.
Two people are killed and several are missing due to a tornado in the U.S. state of Oklahoma.