On Sunday, the Associated Press reported that deadly, tornado-inducing storms have killed at least 15 people after they tore a path through Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas.
The AP reported that tornadoes destroyed homes across the three states, as well as a truck stop where dozens of drivers were sheltering from the storms.
The majority of the damage inflicted by the storms occurred in a region from the north of Dallas to the northwest corner of Arkansas. However, forecasters believe that the greatest risk will be in the east, somewhere between Alabama and as high as New York City.
The majority of the known fatalities came from Cooke County, Texas, which is near the border of Oklahoma. The town of Valley View saw three fatalities.
“It’s just a trail of debris left. The devastation is pretty severe,” Cooke County Sheriff Ray Sappington told the AP.
According to NPR, Sappington stated that “Search and rescue is ongoing,” and authorities have “already started to do recovery of the deceased, as well.”
The AP reported that two children, aged two and five, were among the dead.
Hugo Parra, a resident of Farmers Branch, said he took shelter in the bathroom of a truck stop near Valley View, along with 40 to 50 others. The storm tore the roof off the building, smashing cars and doing other damage.
“A firefighter came to check on us and he said, ‘You’re very lucky,’” Parra said, per the AP. “The best way to describe this is the wind tried to rip us out of the bathrooms.”
In Arkansas, at least five people have been killed, including a 26-year-old woman who was discovered just a few feet from a destroyed home.
In Oklahoma, two deaths were reported, and tens of thousands of people have been left without power after the storms knocked out power to the region.
This is the latest in a string of severe weather events occurring within the Midwest. Earlier this week, Iowa saw a series of tornadoes that left at least five dead and at least 35 more injured. April nearly broke the record for the highest number of tornadoes in a single month, coming in second place.
As of a report from last week, 859 confirmed tornadoes have occurred this year, an increase to the average number, about 27% more, according to the AP, citing NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center. Iowa has seen the most of these storms, with their count at 81 as of last week.
Through Tuesday, there have been 859 confirmed tornadoes this year, 27% more than the U.S. sees on average, according to NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma. So far, Iowa’s had the most, with 81 confirmed twisters.
The post Tornado-Causing Storms Tear Through Arkansas, Oklahoma, And Texas, Leaving At Least 15 Dead appeared first on Resist the Mainstream.
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Author: John Symank
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