Storm damages eastern Oklahoma hospital roof; nine patients evacuated

Part of the Northeastern Health System hospital in Sallisaw, Oklahoma, was ripped off by severe storms Tuesday afternoon, prompting the evacuation of about nine patients, officials said. Brad Taylor, Sequoyah County Emergency Management director, said a small section of the roof peeled away, leaving portions of the facility soaked. No injuries had been reported.

By Tuesday evening, officials were preparing for another round of heavy rain. “We’re gathering tarps and filling some sandbags up, and we’re going to try to prevent more water getting inside,” Taylor said. “And we’re going to be moving some stuff out of the way.”

Severe storms hit parts of Oklahoma and Arkansas on Tuesday, with the National Weather Service reporting rainfall rates as high as 2 inches per hour in LeFlore County, Oklahoma, and in west-central Arkansas. Steve Cobb, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Tulsa, said heavy rains caused flash flooding in eastern Arkansas south of Interstate 40, particularly in Franklin County, though there weren’t any reports of wind damage there.

Outside the hospital in Sallisaw, fallen tree limbs blocked some areas, and a road south of the facility was closed because of the weather, Taylor said. Northeastern Health System did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

Sallisaw is a rural agricultural community with about 8,500 residents near the Arkansas border.