Death and devastation after tornado in small Texas town Cyclone “Biparjoy” to hit India and Pakistan

A tornado devastated the small town of Perryton, Texas, killing at least three people and injuring dozens more. Emergency services spoke to US media of 50 to 100 injured after the hurricane cut a path through the northern Texas town near the Oklahoma border early Thursday evening (local time). The severity of the injuries ranged from minor cuts to critically ill patients who had to be taken to other clinics, a spokeswoman for the local hospital told NBC News.

According to the chief of the local fire brigade, Paul Dutcher, individual residents were still missing.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced rapid support for Perryton. He is praying for those affected by the “terrible storm,” Abbott wrote on Twitter. “Texas stands ready to provide additional resources to help protect our communities.”

Surrounding neighborhoods also sent help to the city of approximately 8,000 residents, which was without power in the evening, according to energy company Xcel Energy. A schoolhouse was provided for those who had lost their roof over their heads.

The first pictures showed the rubble of completely destroyed houses and fallen trees. According to fire chief Dutcher, a trailer park in particular was affected. In addition to shops, up to 200 residential buildings may have been destroyed by the storm and cell towers also collapsed.

The hurricane is part of a massive storm front that has been moving through the southern United States for several days, covering areas from western Kansas to Florida’s Gulf Coast with severe thunderstorms, heavy rain and hail. The U.S. Weather Service continued to warn of tornadoes and ping pong ball-sized hailstones in parts of Texas and Oklahoma into the evening.

More than 185 storms with seven tornadoes were recorded so far in the United States on Thursday, according to CNN. These cloud trunks are formed when the air masses between the ground and the cloud begin to rotate in low-lying storm fronts and accelerate with rising moist air. The American Southwest and the Great Plains east of the Rocky Mountains are typical tornado areas.

(yam/sda/dpa)