At least 19 people were killed as tornadoes tore through Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas over Memorial Day weekend. According to CNN, the death toll across the three states had reached 19 as of early Monday morning. As reported by the Associated Press, the worst damage took place in a region ranging from north of Dallas to the northwest corner of Arkansas. Meanwhile, forecasters warned of more storms coming to the Midwest as well as the East Coast by Monday next week, covering areas from Alabama to near New York City.
On Saturday night, a tornado tore through a rural area near a mobile home park in Cooke County, Texas, killing at least seven people, including two children, ages two and five. The fatalities were confirmed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott during a news conference Sunday. According to the county sheriff, three family members were found dead inside one home. Abbott added that 100 people were injured, and over 200 homes and structures were destroyed.
“The hopes and dreams of Texas families and small businesses have literally been crushed by storm after storm,” Abbott said as he sat in front of a devastated truck stop near Valley View. Officials reported that the area around the truck stop was among the hardest hit, with winds reaching an estimated 135 mph.
The governor issued a disaster proclamation for Denton, Cooke, Montague, and Collin counties in Texas. The National Weather Service teams assessed the damage in these counties, as well as in Montague, Cooke, Denton, and Collins counties, to determine the strength of the tornadoes on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. As reported by The Christian Post, the governor also issued a disaster proclamation for Denton, Cooke, Montague, and Collin counties in Texas, where the National Weather Service teams were assessing the damage.
Over in Arkansas, at least 8 people were killed, including a 26-year-old woman found dead outside a destroyed home in Olvey, a small community in Boone County, according to Daniel Bolen of the county’s emergency management office. Two more bodies were found in Marion County, while three people died in Benton County.
In Oklahoma, two people died in Mayes County, while a man in Louisville, Kentucky, was killed after a tree fell on him.
According to poweroutage.us, more than 80,000 customers in Arkansas were without power late Sunday, while Missouri had more than 90,000 outages, Texas had 27,000, and Oklahoma had 3,000.
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