MOORE, Okla. (AP) — Two people, including a child, have died in Oklahoma flooding as meteorologists warned on Sunday of further flooding, thunderstorms, and tornadoes from the Midwest to the South.
Police in Moore, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) south of Oklahoma City, received dozens of reports of “high-water incidents” over the weekend including two cars stranded in flood waters on Saturday evening. One car was swept away under a bridge, and police said they were able to rescue some people, but a woman and 12-year-old boy were found dead.
“This was a historical weather event that impacted roads and resulted in dozens of high-water incidents across the city,” Moore police said in a statement Sunday. Moore has about 63,000 people.
The National Weather Service issued flooding and severe thunderstorm warnings in large swaths of Oklahoma as well as portions of Texas, Missouri, Arkansas, and southern Illinois amid a storm system from the southern Plains to the Upper Midwest. Meteorologists predicted heavy rainfall and potential tornadoes in Arkansas and Missouri.
Climate experts have warned that such historical weather events are likely to become more common – barring substantial intervention – as the warming climate leads to a “thirstier” atmosphere and slower, wetter storms.
