At least two people are feared dead after a tornado destroyed a motel and caused other damage in Oklahoma City.

The American Budget Value Inn was destroyed by the storm, and trailers at a mobile home park adjacent to the motel were also damaged.

"We have absolutely experienced a traumatic event," El Reno Mayor Matt White said.

"We've had an incident where a tornado has basically hit a mobile home park and a hotel, and some other local businesses."

"We're doing a search and rescue right now... we have all hands on deck."

CNN reported that two people had been killed and officials were going door to door to find victims.

It comes after the bodies of a man and a woman were discovered in a submerged vehicle near the Mississippi River in Missouri as storms swept through central US.

Heavy rain in recent weeks has spurred major flooding in several states.

Flooding along the Arkansas River is expected to threaten communities from Tulsa into western Arkansas as water released from an Oklahoma dam combines with additional rain in the forecast.

Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson has ordered the state's National Guard to station high-water rescue teams in the western part of the state.

Main image: A home destroyed by a tornado in northwest Oklahoma City | Image: Brett Conner/Zuma Press/PA Images