Storms damage casino, down power lines | Local News

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Storms damage casino, down power lines | Local News

NORMAN — Severe weather tore through Cleveland County Saturday evening, damaging buildings and tearing down power lines. No injuries were reported by press time Saturday night, but emergency personnel were still assessing the damage.

Riverwind Casino was damaged by strong winds, although casino staff couldn’t confirm that a tornado hit the building. The Beach Boys played at the casino before the storm hit, and a photo of Gov. Mary Fallin at the concert was posted on her official Twitter account, although The Transcript was not able to confirm if she was in the facility when winds struck Riverwind.

On and off ramps to Highway 9 West were blocked by emergency personnel due to downed power lines and a semi-trailer wreck just west of the casino along Highway 9. The Oklahoma Department of Transportation announced all lanes of east and westbound SH-9W from I-35 west to Santa Fe Avenue/24th Avenue SW would be closed due to the accident and storm debris until early this morning. Cleveland County was under a severe thunderstorm and flash flood warning for several hours following the initial storm.

The University of Oklahoma sent out alerts to warn those on campus to stay inside and move to interior, first-floor rooms at around 8:30 p.m., sending out an all-clear message about 15 minutes later.

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