Atleast 15 were killed, including children, while hundreds were left injured after powerful storms hit several US states including Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma, wrecking hundreds of buildings and obliterating homes. According to AP News, by Monday, forecasters said, the greatest risk would shift to the east, covering a broad swath of the country from Alabama to near New York City.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott, stated that atleast seven people were killed and nearly 100 were injured on Saturday night when a powerful tornado struck communities in north Texas near the Oklahoma border. He said two children, aged 2 and 5 from a single family, were among the dead, reported Reuters.
Over 200 homes and other structures were said to be destroyed, with another 120 buildings damaged in a zone that stretched over 50 miles. He stated, that several motorists left their vehicles and sought shelter at a truck stop, about 125 people took cover inside the gasoline station as the tornado shredded the facility. He said everyone survived, but it took rescue teams about an hour to free scores who were trapped in the wreckage.
A National Weather Service official said the Valley View, Texas tornado packed top winds of 135 miles per hour. Multiple twisters hit the region, but the precise number had yet to be determined.
Officials were wrapping up initial search-and-rescue operations and the governors said authorities would make one final sweep of damaged buildings for possible additional victims but that nobody else was reported missing by day's end.
More than 450,000 were without electricity across a 10-state region on Sunday stretching from Texas to Michigan, as per Reuters.
As per the report, this tornado-spawning storm came just days after a powerful tornado ripped through a rural Iowa town, killing four people, and several twisters touched down in Texas last week.