At least 1 killed after tornado hits Oklahoma, 5 hurt

A number of tornadoes struck overnight in Oklahoma killing at least one person and injuring five others as they flattened homes and ripped down trees in the northeast corner of the state, according to local media reports.

In  the morning, fire crews surveyed the destruction and rescued residents in Barnsdall and Bartlesville, two rural towns just north of Tulsa ravaged by the twisters, reported Reuters citing local news outlets.

At least 40 homes were damaged or destroyed and a natural gas leak was reported in Barnsdall, according to the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management, reports Reuters.

One person was killed in the community of 1,000, as per KOCO News.

Meanwhile, at least five others were injured in Bartlesville, a town of 30,000, the ABC affiliate in Oklahoma City reported.

Video footage aired on local media and social media showed destroyed houses, which downed power lines and trees and debris was shown strewn across roadways throughout the area. About 16,000 homes and businesses faced power outage in Oklahoma, according to Poweroutage.us.

Storm spotters reported that at least 17 tornadoes touched down in the Plains region throughout the night, including eight in Missouri, as per the National Weather Service, which was yet to confirm whether the damage or casualties were caused by tornadoes.

The weather was expected to remain rough till Tuesday as at least two million residents in the region were under a tornado watch, the NWS said.