Midwest Tornadoes: Oklahoma Death Toll Rises To 6; Frank Hobbie And Daughters Perished

By Laura Matthews | April 16 2012 11:51 AM

A man who was critically injured on Sunday, when a tornado swept through Woodward, Okla., has died, bringing the death toll from the Midwest tornadoes to six. Reports are that the seriously injured man died in hospital overnight.

Reuters

Norman Nelson, of Woodward, Oklahoma, takes a break from cleaning up the home of his mother, Wilma Nelson, 87, after a tornado April 15, 2012. Rescue and clean-up efforts were underway across the Midwest on Sunday after dozens of tornados tore through the region, killing at least six people in Oklahoma, leaving thousands without power in Kansas and damaging up to 90 percent of the homes and buildings in one small Iowa town

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Two men and three children also perished when the twister struck Woodward, a city of 12,000. Relatives told KFOR-TV that Frank Hobbie and his daughters, Faith, 5, and Kelly, 7, were killed when the tornado ripped through the mobile home park. The children reportedly suffered serious injuries. They were airlifted to Texas.

They were grandma and grandpa's girls and it's just going to be hard without them and their daddy, he was a good daddy, Shelly Hobbie said.

Frank Hobbie's stepmom, said her grandson, Ty, was the only one who survived.

Courtney Glitch, one of the first volunteers on the scene, told KFOR-TV that he found one the little girls and that She was still holding her baby doll.

Woodward Mayor Roscoe Hill has told the media that many of the residents weren't aware of the danger. Storm sirens failed to sound after lightning destroyed the warning system.

This thing took us by surprise, Hill said. It's kind of overwhelming.

The National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., had warned more than 24 hours ahead that high-end, life-threatening event could take place over the weekend.

A National Weather Service official told the Associated Press that there was a month's worth of tornados seen in Kansas over the weekend.

We knew well ahead of time that this was going to be ugly Sedgwick County Commissioner Tim Norton said. People listened.

Approximately 100 homes were damaged in a Wichita mobile home park. However, no serious injuries or fatalities were reported.

City and county officials preliminarily estimated over the weekend that the overall loss in the Wichita area is about $283 million.

Watch the KFOR-TV report below: