Severe weather in Oklahoma has left three people dead, including a 12-year-old boy and his mother, officials say.
The dangerous floodwaters in central Oklahoma also damaged at least 10 homes, according to a release from Oklahoma State Emergency Operations Center.
Police in Moore, about 10 miles south of Oklahoma City, reported “dozens of high-water incidents” Sunday morning, describing the severe storms as “a historical weather event.”
One of the incidents involved a mother and son whose vehicle was washed into a creek and later wedged against a drainage pipe, police told CNN affiliate KOCO. The vehicle was believed to be carrying a family of three, police said. A third person was able to escape and was taken to the hospital in serious condition.
The woman and child were missing when rescuers reached the vehicle. They were found after an extensive search by Moore police and neighboring agencies.
The principal of Apple Creek Elementary in Moore, Oklahoma, said the 12-year-old boy was a student there.
“It is with profound sadness that I share the heartbreaking news that one of our sixth-grade students, Rivers Bond, and his mother tragically passed away during the severe flooding last night,” Rachel McNear said in a letter addressed to parents provided to KOCO. The mother has been identified as 44-year-old Erika Lott, the Moore Police Department said on Facebook.
A father and son in a separate vehicle that was swept away around the same time also managed to escape, police told KOCO. Their vehicle briefly ended up on top of the family of three’s vehicle, according to KOCO.
Earlier Saturday night, Moore police said they were responding to more than a dozen calls for help from residents whose vehicles were trapped in high water.
In Spaulding, Oklahoma, a tornado struck at around 10:35 p.m. Saturday, injuring two people, according to Hughes County Emergency Management. The storm destroyed two homes and several nearby structures. One of the injured later died, an official confirmed Sunday.
Near Leonard, Oklahoma – about 25 miles southeast of Tulsa – a search is underway for a mother and her 7-year-old daughter who were swept away by floodwaters, officials said on social media.
Around 4:45 p.m., the Bixby Fire Department responded to reports of an SUV caught in rushing water on private property. The father and one child escaped, but the 47-year-old woman and her younger daughter were dragged away, according to Wagoner County Emergency Management.
Water levels were “significantly higher than we’ve seen in recent years,” police told KOCO. Flooding in the area has receded, but police warned of large debris remaining on roads.
The flooding is part of severe weather that struck multiple states in the South this past weekend. Storms unleashed multiple tornadoes and dumped hail bigger than baseballs in parts of the southern Plains.
A few thunderstorms could deliver gusty winds and hail in the Southeast and Ohio Valley on Monday but will not be nearly as strong as this weekend’s storms.
CNN Meteorologists Allison Chinchar and Mary Gilbert and CNN’s Christine Sever contributed to this report.
