Tornado, other storms kill 9 in Missouri, Oklahoma as front moves east

(CNN) - At least nine people were killed in Oklahoma and Missouri on Saturday as tornadoes and other severe weather swept across the Midwest, according to the National Weather Service.

A tornado touched down at about 5:42 p.m. in Ottawa County, Oklahoma, killing five people and heavily damaging buildings in a 20-block area, the service said.

Three more people were killed when a tornado touched down about 6 p.m. between Seneca and Neosho near the Missouri-Kansas border. Numerous injuries were also reported and Highway 60, which runs into Interstate 44, was closed due to debris covering the road.

At about 6:20 p.m., a person was killed when thunderstorms about four miles east of Carthage, Missouri knocked a tree onto a mobile home, the weather service was reporting.

The severe weather was expected to continue overnight, moving eastward out of Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma and into the Southeastern states, the National Weather Service said. Storms were expected to calm Sunday morning before intensifying in Georgia and the Carolinas again in the afternoon.