Powerful storms killed at least 11 people and left a wide trail of destruction Sunday across Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas after obliterating homes and destroying a truck stop where drivers took shelter during the latest deadly weather to strike the central US.
Seven deaths were reported in Cooke County, Texas, near the Oklahoma border, where a tornado Saturday night plowed through a rural area near a mobile home park, officials said. Storms also caused damage in Oklahoma, where guests at an outdoor wedding were injured. Tens of thousands of residents were without power across the region.
“It’s just a trail of debris left. The devastation is pretty severe,” Cooke County Sheriff Ray Sappington told The Associated Press.
The dead included two children, ages two and five, the sheriff said.
Three family members in Texas were found dead in one home near the small community of Valley View, Sappington said.
Hugo Parra, who lives in Farmers Branch, north of Dallas, said he rode out the storm with about 40 to 50 people in the bathroom of a gas station.
“A firefighter came to check on us and he said, ‘You’re very lucky,’” Parra said. “The best way to describe this is the wind tried to rip us out of the bathrooms.”
At least two people were reported killed in Arkansas, including a 26-year-old woman who was found dead outside a destroyed home in Olvey, a small community in Boone County, according to Daniel Bolen, with the county’s emergency management office.
Another person died in Benton County, Arkansas. Melody Kwok, a county communications director, said multiple other people were injured and that emergency workers were still responding to calls.
“We are still on search and rescue right now,” she said. “This is a very active situation.”
Aerial videos posted online from Rogers in Benton county, north-west Arkansas showed destroyed storefront, water gushing from broken pipes and fallen trees and fences in front of houses.
“The main thing going on at the moment [is] the street department is out trying to clear major roads,” 4029 News reported Keith Foster, spokesperson for Rogers police department, said.
According to PowerOutage.us, as of 1.35pm on Sunday, 97,340 customers are currently facing power outages in Arkansas.
Additionally, the smell of natural gas is prevalent, Fox weather correspondent Max Gorden reports. “It’s heavy in some places where they’ve had some gas lines broken,” he said.
Officials also confirmed two deaths in Mayes County, Oklahoma. Details about the dead were not immediately available, said Mike Dunham, the county’s deputy director of emergency management.
Meanwhile, more than 20 injuries were reported in Claremore, KOCO reports, adding that officials say that three of those injured could have life-threatening injuries.
In an announcement released on Sunday, the Oklahoma department of emergency management said that the American Red Cross has opened two shelters for residents displaced by the storms. The…
2024-05-26 13:25:43
Source from www.theguardian.com