Published: December 27,2015
The Dallas area was ravaged by several massive tornadoes that left at least 11 people dead Saturday night. Five people died in a flash flood in Illinois, and eight deaths have been confirmed in Missouri, the latest tragedy in what has become a week-long outbreak of severe weather.
Forecasters say a tornado that struck the Garland area may have had winds up to 200 mph.
The weather service said the tornado in the suburb of Garland has been rated an EF-4. That's the second-most powerful tornado on the damage scale used by meteorologists and is generally strong enough to level well-constructed homes and toss cars.
Authorities in Garland say at least eight people were killed in 15 injured in storms on Saturday night. About 600 homes were also destroyed.
The weather service also said damage in nearby Rowlett indicated it was likely an EF-3 tornado, which has winds up to 165 mph. City officials said 23 people were injured by the storm.
(MORE: Where Additional Severe Weather Could Occur)
KXAS-TV said five of the deaths
occurred near the intersection of Interstate 30 and the President George
Bush Turnpike in Garland, a large city northeast of Dallas that is a part of the Dallas-Fort
Worth metroplex, according to authorities. At least three of the five
victims were believed to be in vehicles at the time, Garland Police Lt.
Pedro Barineau told the Associated Press on Sunday morning.
The Dallas
County Medical Examiner's Office has confirmed that 27-year-old Petra
Ruiz was one of the eight killed in the Garland tornado. No other names
have yet been released, and the victims' families are still being
notified.
"This is a huge impact on our community and we're all suffering," Barineau said.
Two
additional deaths occurred about 17 miles to the north in
unincorporated Copeville. Amy Cortez of the Nevada Volunteer Fire
Department told The Weather Channel the two people died when a gas
station along State Highway 78 was destroyed by winds likely associated
with the same tornado that struck Garland minutes earlier.
WFAA-TV in Dallas
showed video of damage to homes, a church and vehicles in Garland from
what is believed to be a separate tornado that struck Glenn Heights. In
total, about 600 structures were damaged by the twisters and more than
60 injuries have been reported, officials said.
Search and rescue efforts continued Sunday in the damaged areas east and northeast of Dallas. In addition to the tornadoes, flooding was reported in the St. Louis area as well as parts of several other states.
A
coroner in southern Illinois confirmed the deaths of three adults and
two children that drowned after their vehicle was swept away and sank
into a creek.
(FORECAST: The Latest on Winter Storm Goliath)
Here
are some of the biggest impacts from the warm side of Winter Storm
Goliath. All times are Central Standard Time unless otherwise noted.
Texas
Eleven people have been confirmed dead from the round of tornadoes that tore through North Texas on Saturday night. One of those killed was an infant in Blue Ridge, according to the Dallas Morning News.Eight people were killed in the town of Garland, and two people died in Copeville. The death of 27-year-old Petra Ruiz was confirmed as one of the eight killed in Garland by the Dallas County Medical Examiner's Office. No other names have been released at this time and victims' families are still being notified.
The twisters hit a part of the state that's no stranger to damaging tornadoes, but some residents were stunned by the scope of devastation left behind. Debra Smith, 62, told the Dallas Morning News she took shelter in a bathtub of her third-floor apartment in Garland as the storms rolled through.
“That was the scariest moment I’ve ever had in my life,” she told the Dallas Morning News. “I’m a Texas girl, and I never had one like this before.”
According to The Associated Press, the destruction in Garland was so overwhelming that Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins declared the city was a disaster only minutes after witnessing the damage firsthand.
"I
don't declare local disasters lightly," said Jenkins. "But I looked at
the scene for 10 minutes, spoke to the incident commander and then
called the lawyers to bring the paperwork."
Just east of the Dallas
city limits, emergency officials were sent to a trailer park in
Sunnyvale, after they received reports of mobile homes ablaze and
injured residents. Dallas
County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Melinda Urbina told the AP that
many of the homes in the area were so damaged that they were likely
uninhabitable, and the Red Cross also responded to the scene.(MORE: What To Do After the Storm)
One tornado was reported in Ovilla and Desoto, and also reportedly struck portions of Midlothian, Waxahachie, Glenn Heights.
Stephanie Parker, the emergency manager for Ellis County, which is about 30 miles south of Dallas, posted on Twitter: "We have destroyed and damaged homes. Please do not get out on the roads if you do not have to."
Less than an hour later, The Weather Channel broadcast live video of a cone-shaped tornado in progress near Sunnyvale, beginning at 6:46 p.m. The long-track tornado smashed northward, nicking the southeast corner of Garland, where several of the deaths occurred, before roaring through neighboring Rowlett. It then crossed parts of Rockwall and Collin counties, passing near Farmersville and causing major damage there, according to local fire officials relaying information to the National Weather Service.
Rowlett Mayor Todd Gottel issued a State of Disaster declaration Sunday morning after the town suffered extreme damage from a tornado Saturday night. City Manager Brian Funderburk said 23 people were injured, and a 24-hour curfew was in place for affected areas.
"Oh my God, the adrenaline was moving so fast; we were just holding on to each other and just praying," Rowlett resident Evanne Dalton told NBC Dallas-Fort Worth.
Tornado east of Dallas, near the Rowlett, TX area via Nathan Moore. #txwx
At least 52,000 Oncor electricity customers were without power across Texas at one point Saturday evening, with 30,000 of those in Dallas County alone. Crews chipped away at the power failures later in the evening, but more than 13,000 customers still lacked electricity Sunday morning.
In addition to the tornado damage, flash flooding was reported across much of Dallas County due to heavy rainfall.
Missouri
Six deaths related to flooding were confirmed in Pulaski County Sunday. According to Pulaski County Sheriff Ron Long, there were two separate incidents where cars drove into flooded roadways and were swept away.In the first incident, two people occupying the swept away vehicle were killed. The second incident involved the same scenario, causing the death of four people. Officials are currently looking for a fifth person that may have also been inside of the vehicle.
Two fatalities were confirmed in Greene County Saturday, according to emergency management. They also report 103 water rescues and 198 traffic control issues.
One of the deaths occurred when a motorist was swept off of Highway Cc at the intersection of Sims Branch.
"Widespread flooding and continued rainfall are causing very dangerous conditions across much of central and southern Missouri," said Nixon in a release. “Multiple fatalities due to flash flooding have already been reported, and I urge Missourians in flood-affected areas to stay alert, avoid travel if possible and never drive into a flooded roadway. With more heavy rain expected tonight and tomorrow, state emergency management personnel will be working around the clock to keep Missourians safe.”
Flooding was reported across the St. Louis area Saturday, and several people had to be rescued from the rising waters. In Chesterfield, west of downtown St. Louis, a man had to be rescued from a tree as floodwaters rose Saturday evening, Fox 2 News reported.
The man and a child were swept away by the flooding, the report added, and the child was later found safe at a neighbor's home.
NWS Springfield reports that railcars floated off the tracks due to flooding of Shoal Creek Sunday. Additionally, three families were stranded with water rescues underway.
In Noel, Missouri, emergency managers reported that approximately 20 water rescues were performed on Sunday while 18-20 homes were inundated in flood water.
Saturday, five people were rescued from a cabin at Bennett Spring State Park in Dallas county, NWS also reports. In McDonald county, 18 homes were flooded and the Tyson Foods waste water system in Noel was impacted.
Flooding has caused the eastbound Insterstate 70 to be shut down in far northwest metro St. Louis. I-49 in Carthage has also been shut down due to flooding.
Red Cross shelters were opened to house residents forced from their homes by the flooding, according to a separate Fox 2 News report.
More than 3 inches of rain fell in many areas, and the NWS reported flooded roads in parts of Franklin County. The city of Eureka, along Interstate 44 in St. Louis County, also experienced flooding.
The National Weather Service relayed reports of water rescues in Monett, in the southwestern part of the state, Saturday evening. On Sunday morning, an apartment complex for senior citizens in the town of Sarcoxie was evacuated due to rising floodwaters, according to a separate NWS storm report. There were no injuries and the evacuations were just precautionary, officials confirmed to The Weather Channel.
Illinois
A southern Illinois coroner says three adults and two children have drowned after the vehicle they were riding in was swept away and sank in a rain-swollen creek.Marion County Coroner Troy Cannon says the swift moving East Fork Creek carried the car off a low-water bridge about 7:30 p.m. Saturday near the town of Patoka, about 60 miles west of St. Louis.
The car became lodged 150 to 200 feet downstream, but shortly after the first firefighter arrived on the scene it was dislodged and sank.
Cannon says dive teams recovered the car from the water several hours later and the bodies of the victims from the car.
The names of the victims were not immediately released. Cannon says the vehicle was traveling from Kentucky to Minnesota.
Oklahoma
The National Weather Service said a tornado was reported in a rural area of McClain County near Byars just before 2 p.m. Saturday.Saturday customers of Altus Water were asked to conserve water for 24 hours due to a power failure at Tom Steed Reservoir, according to Altus Emergency Management.
Flooding was expected to cause major problems across the state as the storm system dumped huge rainfall totals, and officials warned residents to stay home and off roadways, the Tulsa World reported. Authorities reported more accidents than usual, which they blamed on the weather, the report added. Several interstates and highways were closed by high water levels, as well.
A few thousand customers were without power Saturday night across the state, the Tulsa World also reported.
Arkansas
Sunday, a tornado was reported west of Calhoun, according to a local sheriff's office.In Ouachita county, the sheriff's office reports damage caused by a probable tornado that left roofs blown off of homes, windows blown out of stores and power lines down in Bearden. Numerous trees and power lines were also downed in the area.
"It looks like it hit about a four-block area," Ouachita County Sheriff David Norwood told Arkansas Online. "The crews are out checking to make sure there are no injuries and that we've got all residents accounted for."
Tornado in Hampton. @KATVNews
NWS Shreveport reported a tornado southwest of Foreman, just across the Red River Sunday evening. The tornado was on the ground at Highway 41 heading northeast.
Emergency management officials in Waldron, Arkansas reported that almost all county roads in Scott County were closed Sunday night due to flooding. That inlcuded Highway 71 at Mansfield, Highway 80 West and Highway 28 East.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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