OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma - The latest in a series of tornados to hit the central United States touched down Thursday in Oklahoma City. Preliminary reports said the twister flattened homes, tore up part of a car assembly plant in the southwest part of the city, and sent people streaming to hospitals across the city, but there was no word of any fatalities.

Rescue crews who had been on standby in preparation for the storm were assessing the damage and searching for any wounded late Thursday, according to George Johnson, a spokesman for the Oklahoma emergency management agency.

Severe storms and clusters of tornadoes have battered the central and southeastern United States in the past four days, killing 42 people in Missouri, Tennessee, Kansas and Illinois. Federal authorities have declared parts of Missouri, Kansas and Tennessee disaster areas, making them eligible for federal relief funds.

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