Tornadoes Leave Heavy Damage in Texas and Oklahoma

   

Deaths were reported in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas after heavy storms swept into the area. Millions of Americans were under the threat of more severe weather Sunday.

Powerful storms and possible tornadoes pummeled Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas on Saturday night, killing at least eight people, damaging homes and leaving hundreds of thousands without power.

The severe weather, including the threat of tornadoes, was moving east on Sunday. More than six million people were under a tornado watch through Sunday afternoon, including parts of Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee. More than 15 million people were in a wider area with an “enhanced” risk of severe weather.

In northern Texas on Saturday, a tornado left at least five dead — three adults and two children — and at least 20 people injured, said Ray Sappington, the sheriff of Cooke County.

Three of those people were trapped in debris at a home, he said. Another person died after his home was completely blown away. “Sadly, we fear that number is going to rise,” he said, adding that some of the injured were in serious condition.

Emergency responders were still searching for people who could be trapped in the debris, he said. At least 60 people had been stranded after a Shell truck stop in Cooke County was severely damaged, and several people sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

The tornado snapped power poles and severely damaged structures in an area about four miles in length, Sheriff Sappington said. It could take more than a week to fully restore electricity to the area, he added.

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