Severe storms death toll rises to 9 in 2 states

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Destructive storms that tore across the country's midsection left at least nine people dead after smashing uprooted trees into homes in Arkansas and ripping apart the only school in one tiny Oklahoma town, officials said today.

A tornado swept through Tushka in southeast Oklahoma town late Thursday, killing two sisters in their 70s, Salvation Army Capt. Ric Swartz said.

The tornado also injured at least 25 people as it ground through the town of 350 residents, said Gilbert Wilson, Atoka County's emergency management director. He said witnesses reported seeing two tornadoes that merged to form a single twister. The National Weather Service confirmed a single tornado hit the area.

Tushka Public School Principal Matt Simpson said the storm destroyed five school buildings and that the campus is littered with downed trees and bricks blown from the buildings. Students from kindergarten through 12th grade attend the school, which was empty when the storm hit.

Easton Crow, a junior, drove by after the storm and saw missing roofs, crushed vehicles and textbooks scattered everywhere.

"I'm heartbroken. This is where most of us grew up," Crow, 17, said. "I'm just in awe that in a few seconds memories that have been built were taken."