State Of Emergency Updated To Include Additional Counties

Gov. Kevin Stitt issued a state of emergency declaration for 12 counties across Oklahoma on Sunday.

On Tuesday, it was updated to include additional counties.

This comes after dozens of reported tornadoes swept through the state on Saturday, resulting in the deaths of four people, authorities report.

STATE OF EMERGENCY EXPANDED (4/30/2024)

The Governor’s State of Emergency has been updated to include additional counties and to include storms that occurred beginning April 25 and continuing. Counties included are as follows: Carter, Cotton, Garfield, Hughes, Johnston, Kay, Lincoln, Love, Murray, Okfuskee, Oklahoma, Okmulgee, Payne, Pittsburg, Pontotoc, and Wagoner. The Executive Order also extends the temporary suspension of size and weight limits for oversized vehicles and equipment responding from out of state to assist with power restoration efforts. 

The declaration was issued after storms spawned multiple tornadoes across Oklahoma on Saturday, from the mid-morning hours through overnight hours into Sunday. It suspends the rules for "size and weight permits of oversized vehicles transporting materials and supplies critical to recovery efforts, emergency relief, and power restoration," according to a press release issued Sunday morning.

Related Coverage

1. 1 Dead, At Least 20 Injured In Sulphur After Tornado Damages Town
2. Devastation Seen In Sulphur Following Saturday Storms

The Oklahoma Office of the Chief Medical Examiner confirmed four storm-related fatalities: 

1. 2 fatalities in Holdenville 
2. 1 fatality on Interstate 35 near Marietta 
3. 1 fatality in Sulphur

According to the Oklahoma State Department of Health, 296 injuries have been reported by area hospitals:

1. 1 Burn
2. 62 Cut/Pierce
3. 77 Falls
4. 7  Poisoning 
5. 59 Struck by or Against
6. 56 Transportation Related
7. 34 Other

The declaration lasts for 30 days.