Deadly Tornadoes Kill 4

Friday, March 30th 2007, 12:55 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ The violent storm system blamed for four deaths in three U.S. states flooded parts of Texas as it moved eastward, stranding drivers in high water and forcing dozens of elderly people to evacuate an assisted living center.

Many smaller roads in the area were still closed Friday morning.

Businesses in the town flooded as up to 7 inches (18 centimeters) of rain fell in the area. About 60 elderly residents from an assisted living center were taken to a church on higher ground for safety, said Eric Meyers, Navarro County Emergency Management coordinator.

The spring storm unleashed more than 65 tornadoes in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Colorado and Nebraska on Wednesday and Thursday, the National Weather Service said. A twister Thursday afternoon in Oklahoma City injured at least five people _ two of them critically.

On Wednesday, the storms were blamed for four deaths in Oklahoma, Colorado and Texas.

A 7-year-old Oklahoma girl was treated at a hospital for cuts Thursday, and two people were injured when a van was thrown from the Kilpatrick Turnpike into a concrete culvert by the storms, said Oklahoma City Deputy Fire Chief Tony Young.

Residents in several states from North Dakota to Iowa and Texas were bracing for more severe weather on Friday.

The same storm system dumped mountains of snow on Wyoming, causing highway pileups and closing large portions of three interstates. Up to 70 inches (177 centimeters) of snow had fallen in some mountain areas since Wednesday. About 600 homes remained without power.