Part of hospital's roof ripped off and patients evacuated as damaging storms hit Oklahoma

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SALLISAW, OK (AP) — Storms carrying heavy rain and damaging winds ripped part of the roof off a hospital in eastern Oklahoma on Tuesday afternoon, forcing some patients to be evacuated, according to county officials.

The Northeastern Health System hospital in Sallisaw had to evacuate around nine patients after a small section of its roof was peeled off, leaving part of the facility soaked, said Brad Taylor, Sequoyah County's Emergency Management director. No injuries had been reported, he said.

By Tuesday evening, officials were rushing to prepare for another round of damaging rain.

“We’re gathering tarps and fill some sandbags up, and we’re going to try to prevent more water getting inside," he 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 rainfall rates as high as 2 inches (about 5 centimeters) per hour in west-central Arkansas and LeFlore County, Oklahoma, according to the National Weather Service.

Steve Cobb, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Tulsa, Oklahoma, 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 were fallen tree limbs, and a road south of the hospital had to be closed because of the extreme weather, Taylor said.

Northeastern Health System did not immediately respond to a call from The Associated Press requesting comment.

Sallisaw is a rural agricultural community home to about 8,500 people.