Three people are dead and 10 remain unaccounted for after severe storms struck across the middle of the U.S. over the weekend.
Two people were killed when a storm hit a trailer park in Nashville, Arkansas, Howard County Emergency Management coordinator Sonny Raulerson said Monday. There had been a tornado warning in the area.
Also, a fierce storm injured at least 26 people and caused significant destruction late Sunday in the Texas town of Van, officials said. The National Weather Service had issued a tornado warning in that area, too.
Warning sirens sounded before the storm hit Van. Van Zandt County Fire Marshal Chuck Allen told The Weather Channel’s “America’s Morning Headquarters” early Monday that 10 people remained unaccounted for and that there were no deaths in the town. Allen added that crews were focusing search efforts near where the missing were last seen.
The destruction in Van followed the death of one person a day earlier in Eastland County, Texas.
More than 70 tornadoes were reported over the weekend in the Midwest and Plains states.
Emergency workers use ATVs to rescue walking wounded
Those injured in Van were taken to area hospitals, Allen said. About a third of the town was damaged, he estimated.
“Damages range from completely destroyed homes, damaged homes, to trees and power lines down,” he said. “The initial response of emergency responders was to locate and identify any injured individuals.”
The Red Cross is helping emergency officials and setting up a shelter at the First Baptist Church. Teams on foot and on ATVs were rescuing the walking wounded, and a triage area was set up at the church.
The Van Fire Department said on its Facebook page that a second storm cell struck about 10:30 p.m., and a siren sounded to encourage emergency officials in the field to take cover. The department said the area was not safe and urged people to stay away and off the roads.
Heavy rain hit large swaths of Texas and the Southern Plains. Flash flooding struck across parts of northern Texas, including the town of Krum. CNN affiliate WFAA reported that flood debris damaged a new bridge.
Widespread areas of Texas saw 2 to 4 inches of rain over the weekend. Eleven inches pummeled Navarro County, Texas, south of the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Roof ripped off high school in Iowa
Early Sunday, a tornado struck the small South Dakota town of Delmont.
Approximately 20 buildings were damaged, and residents were being asked to leave because of unsecured propane tanks, said Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Kristi Turman. There were no serious injuries from the storm, she said, but Delmont had no power, no water and no telephone service.
A powerful storm also swept through Lake City, Iowa, ripping most of the roof off a local high school, said Mayor Gary Fahan. The people who had been inside the school for an awards ceremony left the building when they heard tornado sirens, he said, adding that there were no injuries.
On Saturday, a tornado that struck Eastland County, Texas, west of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, killed one person and injured another critically, the local fire department said.