Severe flooding was the big issue Saturday as officials began surveying damage from tornadoes that hit the Oklahoma City metro area Friday, killing 9 and injuring more than 75 people.
The storm, the second fatal one to strike the region in 11 days, spawned several tornadoes, toppled cars and left commuters trapped on an interstate highway during Friday's evening rush. Law enforcement officers and Red Cross workers headed to hard-hit areas after dawn to assess the damage.
The storm also brought heavy rain and hail. Floodwaters topped 4 feet in Oklahoma City early Saturday and were expected to rise as flash flooding continued in parts of the state. Across east and central Oklahoma, repeated rounds of thunderstorms have produced between 4 to 7 inches of rain since midnight Saturday.
Some highways were closed because of downed power lines. The Oklahoma Corporation Commission reported at least 86,200 power outages related to the storms as of early Saturday.
The area along the state's I-40 corridor, packed with motorists when the storm occurred Friday, was particularly hard-hit. A mother and a child were killed when their car rolled over, KFOR-TV reported. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said several motorists were missing.
Ruth Magers recovers some dishes from what is left of her friend Bobbie Steenbergen's home on June 1, 2013 in El Reno, Okla. Tornadoes that swept through central Oklahoma on Friday afternoon left a path of destruction. Emergency officials set out Saturday morning to see how much damage was caused.
Ruth Magers recovers some dishes from what is left of her friend Bobbie Steenbergen's home on June 1, 2013 in El Reno, Okla. Tornadoes that swept through central Oklahoma on Friday afternoon left a path of destruction. Emergency officials set out Saturday morning to see how much damage was caused.  Nick Oxford, AP
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  • Ruth Magers recovers some dishes from what is left of her friend Bobbie Steenbergen's home on June 1, 2013 in El Reno, Okla. Tornadoes that swept through central Oklahoma on Friday afternoon left a path of destruction. Emergency officials set out Saturday morning to see how much damage was caused.
  • Bobbie Steenbergen surveys what is left of her home that was destroyed by the tornadoes that swept through El Reno, Okla.
  • Ron Ulloa looks over his damaged business at I-40 on May 31, 2013, in El Reno, Okla. The storm toppled cars and left commuters trapped on an interstate highway as it bore down during Friday's evening rush hour near Oklahoma City. The National Weather Service reported "several" tornadoes rolled in from the prairie, terrifying towns along their paths.
  • Lisa Ludlam holds her children, Jake, 6, Paige, 9, and Tony, 11, under the Cox Convention Center after fans at the Barons' minor-league hockey playoff game were evacuated to the parking garage because of severe storms in Oklahoma City.
  • A tornado touches down near El Reno, Okla., causing damage to structures and injuring travelers on I-40. The interstate was closed after severe weather rolled through the area.
  • A storm develops just before it produced a tornado near El Reno, Okla., just south of Interstate 40.
  • A tornado touches down near El Reno, Okla., causing damage to structures and injuring travelers on Interstate 40.
  • A tornado touches down near El Reno, Okla.
  • Vehicles trapped by flash flooding sit underneath I-235 in Oklahoma City. Severe thunderstorms brought tornadoes, high winds, heavy rain and hail to central Oklahoma on Friday.
  • Overturned trucks block a frontage road off I-40 in El Reno, Okla., after a tornado moved through the area.
  • A man stands on top of his car to avoid flooding in Oklahoma City.
  • A traffic light rests on the street in Oklahoma City after a storm moved through the area.
  • Water floods an intersection after severe weather passed through Oklahoma City.
  • A rainbow can be seen north of El Reno, Okla., near U.S. Highway 81 after a tornado touched down, causing damage to structures and injuring travelers on Interstate 40.
  • Residents retrieve belongings from a home destroyed by the tornadoes that tore through central Okla. on Friday May 31, 2013, in Union City, Okla.
  • Cars that were damaged by a tornado in a parking lot at Canadian Valley Technical Center on State Highway 66 in El Reno, Okla.
  • People stop traffic to help one of several loose horses across I-40 in El Reno, Okla., after a tornado moved through the area.
  • A truck squeezes past an overturned tractor-trailer on I-40 in El Reno, Okla.
  • A truck drives through a flooded road near El Reno Okla., just south of Interstate 40.
  • High winds snapped a power pole on U.S. Highway 81 near El Reno, Okla., on Friday as tornadoes rolled into the area.
  • Drivers navigate through a flooded intersection in downtown Oklahoma City after multiple tornadoes hit the area on Friday.
  • Cars on a flooded street in Oklahoma City after multiple tornadoes rake the area.
  • Drivers on I-44 in Oklahoma City navigate through floodwaters after tornadoes and storms hit the area on Friday night.
  • A man on a motorcycle drives on a flooded street in Oklahoma City on Friday.
One person died at El Reno, the first city struck by the storm, said Amy Elliott, a spokeswoman for the state medical examiner. Details on the other deaths were not available, Elliott said.
A tornado was reported on the ground in Moore, where a mammoth May 20 twister killed 24 people and left the southern Oklahoma City suburb in ruins, KOKH-TV reported.
Will Rogers World Airport, southwest of Oklahoma City, was closed Friday evening and reopened overnight.
Rick Smith, the warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service at Norman, said that while the storm packed a powerful punch, with winds estimated at 80 mph, it wasn't as strong as the Moore tornado.
Smith also said it was fortunate that the storm largely bypassed the center of the city.
In Missouri, the combination of high water and fallen power lines closed dozen of roads, snarling traffic on highways and side streets in the St. Louis area. At the Hollywood Casino in suburban Maryland Heights, gamblers rushed from the floor as a storm blew out windows and tore off part of the roof.
Weather Channel meteorologist Mike Bettes sustained minor injuries after the "tornado hunt" car in which he was riding in Oklahoma was thrown about 200 yards by a tornado.
The storms were moving east at a slow pace and severe weather is expected "all the way up into Maine and as far south into Georgia," said meteorologist Eric Fisher of The Weather Channel. "Flash flooding is going to make travel very difficult."
Contributing: Associated Press
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