Powerful storms and possible tornadoes pummeled towns in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas on Saturday night, killing at least six people, damaging homes, overturning trucks and leaving hundreds of thousands without power.
The severe weather was moving east on Sunday morning. More than 15 million people were in an area with an “enhanced” risk of severe weather, and more than 800,000 people were under a tornado watch in parts of Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee on Sunday morning.
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 the same 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, and two children were still missing. At least 60 people had been stranded after a Shell truck stop in Cooke County was severely damaged, and several sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
The path of 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.
“Today are waking up to a huge mess, and devastation,” he said.
In Arkansas, one person died in Benton County and multiple people were injured, according to local authorities, who said in a briefing on Sunday morning that the area had been hit by probable tornadoes. Officials declared a disaster in the county, with Decatur and Rocky Branch among the hardest hit areas.
Police officers were responding to people trapped after a possible tornado caused gas leaks and downed trees and power lines, cutting off electricity in large parts of the…