Texas tornadoes: At least 11 killed as tornadoes ravage parts of North Texas

 

A Jeep Liberty sits destroyed after Saturday's tornado in Rockwall, Texas. Photo: Nathan Hunsinger/The Dallas Morning News via AP

At least 11 people died and dozens were injured in strong tornadoes that swept through the Dallas area at the weekend and caused substantial damage, while 12 people died in flooding in the Midwest.
It was the latest of a succession of powerful weather events across the country, from heavy snow in New Mexico, west Texas and the Oklahoma Panhandle to flooding in parts of the Plains and Midwest. Days of tumultuous weather have led to 42 deaths overall - those in Texas, plus five in Illinois, seven in Missouri and 19 in the Southeast.
The full extent of damage from the weekend's storms along a nearly 40-mile stretch near Dallas came into clear focus. Local officials estimated as many as 1000 homes were damaged or destroyed. Vehicles were mangled, power lines fell and trees were toppled. Heavy rain, wind and falling temperatures hampered clean-up efforts yesterday afternoon.

Residents take a picture near a pile of debris at an apartment complex damaged by the tornadoes. Photo: Nathan Hunsinger/The Dallas Morning News via AP

"This is a huge impact on our community and we're all suffering," Garland Police Lieutenant Pedro Barineau said of the suburb about 30km northeast of Dallas, where eight people died, 15 were injured and about 600 structures, mostly single-family homes, were damaged.
The weather service said an EF-4 tornado, which is the second-most powerful with winds up to more than 320km/h, hit the community at about 6.45pm Saturday (local time). It was near the intersection of Interstate 30 and George Bush Turnpike, which is a major route in the region. At least three people who died were found in vehicles, said Barineau, who also noted that some cars appeared to be thrown from the interstate, though it wasn't known whether that was how the people found in the vehicles died.
Natalie Guzman, 33, took photos of her family's home in a Garland neighbourhood. The garage wall had collapsed and the roof fell in. The only part of the house that appeared to be spared was the master bathroom, where her brother-in-law took shelter that night. He was the only one at home and told her he had just enough time to get himself and his dogs into the bathroom.
"It was worse than I thought," Guzman said, comparing the scene to the photos he had sent Saturday.

People assess the damage to a storage facility destroyed by the tornadoes. Photo / Nathan Hunsinger/The Dallas Morning News via AP

The destruction in Garland was so overwhelming that Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins declared the city a disaster within mere minutes of seeing the toll firsthand.
"I don't declare local disasters lightly," Jenkins said. "But I looked at the scene for 10 minutes, spoke to the incident commander and then called the lawyers to bring the paperwork."
In the nearby town of Rowlett, city manager Brian Funderburk said 23 people were injured, but that there were no deaths and no reports of missing people. The weather service said damage indicated it was likely an EF-3 tornado, which has winds up to 265km/h.
Dale Vermurlen lived in a Rowlett neighbourhood that suffered heavy damage. His house had only minor damage, but those next to him were flattened.
"I grabbed both dogs by the collars and held on to the toilet. I said, 'OK, this could be it, boys.'"
Homes in the neighbourhood that had been searched by emergency responders were marked with a black "X." In some instances, it looked like homes had been picked up and set back down in a big pile. State troopers blocked off roads, utility crews restored power and people walked around, hushed and dazed.
Three other people died in Collin County, about 70km northeast of Dallas, according to sheriff's deputy Chris Havey, although the circumstances were not immediately clear.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott made disaster declarations today for four counties - Dallas, Collin, Rockwall and Ellis - and warned that the number of victims could rise.
On the other side of the state, the Department of Public Safety in Amarillo strongly discouraged travel throughout the entire Texas Panhandle - a 26-county area covering nearly 68,000sq km - because blowing and drifting snow had made the roads impassable. Interstate 40, the main east-west highway across the Panhandle, was almost completely shut down. DPS said only a small section of the highway in Amarillo remained open.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin declared a state of emergency as there were blizzard conditions and an ice storm warning out west and flood warnings in the east, where one community had received 22cm of rain.
Further north, rain caused dangerous driving conditions and flooding in Missouri and Illinois.
Six people died overnight when two separate vehicles drove into flooded roadways in south-central Missouri, Pulaski County Sheriff Ronald Long said, and KYTV reported that authorities recovered the body of a driver yesterday from a creek in the southwest part of the state. Also yesterday, three adults and two children drowned in southern Illinois when the vehicle they were riding in was swept away and sank in a rain-swollen creek.
The death toll in the Southeast linked to severe weather rose to 19 today when Alabama authorities found the body of a 22-year-old man whose vehicle was swept away while attempting to cross a bridge; a 5-year-old's body was recovered for that incident yesterday. Ten people have died in Mississippi, and six died in Tennessee. One person was killed in Arkansas.