Nowata County Tornado Injures Woman, Damages Homes

Severe weather swept across the state last night, leaving behind damage and flooding. The storms spun up several twisters last night, including one caught on camera near Nowata.

The Nowata County tornado snapped trees, blew out windows, and tossed carports. A Delaware woman is in the hospital in fair condition after her mobile home was destroyed.

"It's sickening," storm victim Sandy Tharp said. "Years of accumulation are now just in a pile."

Earlier in the night, Sandy Tharp and her husband rode out a storm in a shelter across town. They thought they were in the clear.

"Thought everything was okay," Tharp said. "No sirens. Nothing went off."

Fierce winds woke them about one o'clock in the morning.

"I hit the hallway and heard a snap," she said. "We looked out and their trailer was flipped and our garage was gone."

Their garage was demolished, car windows shattered and tools and lawnmowers were tossed about. But it was her neighbor's cries for help that frightened her even more.

"She was laying over in the field, nothing around her," Tharp said.

Linda Fry was thrown from her mobile home. Nowata Sheriff Deputies say Fry suffered a broken pelvis and vertebrae.

"Family says she's doing pretty good but has a long recovery ahead of her from her injuries," Nowata County Deputy Brad Boyles said.

Fry's neighbors are shocked that their homes were left untouched. Some chickens left behind huddle together in the rubble.

"It's heartbreaking to see this happen to people in this county," Boyles said. "We are a close knit county and you don't want to see anything like this happen to anybody."

Over in Coffeyville, heavy rains brought flooding. The police department says there were no reported injuries.

The main problem in Coffeyville was flash flooding in low lying areas. The police department says the river could crest tomorrow which means more flooding could be in the future.

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