Tornadoes that tore through Oklahoma and flattened buildings across one rural town killed at least four people, Gov. Kevin Stitt said Sunday.

Nearly 30,000 people remained without power after tornadoes that began late Saturday night and left a wide trail of destruction. The damage was extensive in Sulphur, a town of about 5,000 people, where some downtown buildings were reduced to rubble and roofs were sheared off houses across a 15-block radius.

Stitt said about 30 people were injured in Sulphur.

Dozens of reported tornadoes have wreaked havoc in the nation含羞草研究社檚 midsection since Friday, with flood watches and warnings in effect Sunday for a handful of states.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP含羞草研究社檚 earlier story follows below.

HOLDENVILLE, Okla. (AP) 含羞草研究社� Tornadoes that tore across Oklahoma left a wide trail of destruction Sunday, leveling homes and buildings and knocking out power for tens of thousands of residents. At least three people were killed, including a child.

Dozens of reported tornadoes have wreaked havoc in the nation含羞草研究社檚 midsection since Friday, with flood watches and warnings in effect Sunday for Oklahoma and other states 含羞草研究社� including Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas and Texas.

In Oklahoma, a tornado ripped through Holdenville, a town of about 5,000 people, late Saturday, killing two people, and injuring four others, Hughes County Emergency Medical Services said in a statement Sunday. Another person was killed along Interstate 35 near the southern Oklahoma city of Marietta, according to the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management.

In Holdenville, houses were demolished and road signs were bent to the ground in the community roughly 80 miles (129 kilometers) from Oklahoma City. The sound of chainsaws could be heard in the distance as workers began tackling the damage.

含羞草研究社淢y prayers are with those who lost loved ones as tornadoes ripped through Oklahoma last night,含羞草研究社� Gov. Kevin Stitt said in a statement.

He issued an executive order Sunday declaring a state of emergency in 12 counties due to the fallout from the severe weather as crews worked to clear debris and assess damage from the severe storms that downed power lines. Later in the day, he planned to tour the southern Oklahoma city of Sulphur, where some buildings were reduced to piles of rubble.

More than 30,000 customers were without power in Oklahoma as of midday Sunday, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks electric utility outages. In Texas, nearly 52,000 customers were without power.

In Sulphur, authorities reported unspecified injuries along with significant destruction as the tornado began in a city park before tearing through Sulphur含羞草研究社檚 downtown area. Search and rescue operations were underway, according to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.

Photos from local news media showed several leveled buildings and roofs ripped off of homes. The Murray County Sheriff含羞草研究社檚 Office urged people to stay away from the city to clear the way for first responders following extensive damage from tornadoes, according to a statement posted by the agency on Facebook.

含羞草研究社淪tay home and do not come to look,含羞草研究社� the sheriff含羞草研究社檚 office said.

A hospital was damaged in Marietta, according to the Oklahoma Office of Emergency Management, which also said that I-35 was closed at the border with Texas 含羞草研究社渄ue to overturned vehicles and powerlines across the highway.含羞草研究社�

Residents in other states were also digging out from storm damage. A tornado in suburban Omaha, Nebraska, demolished homes and businesses Saturday as it moved for miles through farmland and into subdivisions, then slammed an Iowa town.

Fewer than two dozen people were treated at Omaha-area hospitals, said Dr. Lindsay Huse, health director of the city含羞草研究社檚 Douglas County Health Department.

含羞草研究社淢iraculous含羞草研究社� she said, stressing that none of the city含羞草研究社檚 injuries were serious. Neighboring communities reported a handful of injuries each.

The tornado damage started Friday afternoon near Lincoln, Nebraska. An industrial building in Lancaster County was hit, causing it to collapse with 70 people inside. Several were trapped, but everyone was evacuated, and the three injuries were not life-threatening, authorities said.

One or possibly two tornadoes then spent around an hour creeping toward Omaha, leaving behind damage consistent with an EF3 twister, with winds of 135 to 165 mph, said Chris Franks, a meteorologist in the National Weather Service含羞草研究社檚 Omaha office.

Ultimately the twister slammed into the Elkhorn neighborhood in western Omaha, a city of 485,000 people with a metropolitan-area population of about 1 million.

Staci Roe surveyed the damage to what was supposed to be her 含羞草研究社渇orever home,含羞草研究社� which was not even two years old. When the tornado hit, they were at the airport picking up a friend who was supposed to spend the night.

含羞草研究社淭here was no home to come to,含羞草研究社� she said, describing 含羞草研究社渦tter dread含羞草研究社� when she saw it for the first time.

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds spent Saturday touring the damage and arranging for assistance for the damaged communities. Formal damage assessments are still underway, but the states plan to seek federal help.

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The Associated Press