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As it happenedended

Texas tornado warning: Video shows Walmart shoppers being dragged as South now faces flooding

Several areas of the southern US are under tornado watch alerts

Megan Sheets ,Gino Spocchia,Shweta Sharma
Wednesday 30 November 2022 11:02 GMT
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Texans flee for cover as tornado touches down in Round Rock

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A storm system that passed through Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama overnight spawning multiple tornadoes left at least one person dead and 19 hospitalised.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott called the destruction “devastating”, and said it was a “miracle” that more people were not killed immediately.

Several videos and pictures captured on Monday night showed powerful tornadoes cause massive damage to RVs, houses and schools with one video showing a truck driver having near escape after getting tossed into air.

Another video also showed a tornado approaching a Walmart in Round Rock, not far from Austin, which forced customers to flee the oncoming twister.

At least one person was injured when they were dragged across the parking lot, according to footage.

An estimated 22 million people remained at risk of coming into the path of severe storms moving toward the north east on Tuesday.

Williamson County employee hailed a hero for shielding nieces

An employee for Williamson County, Texas, where at least two tornadoes were reported, has been hailed a hero for protecting her family as their home was destroyed.

County Judge Bill Gravell shared the story of the unnamed employee at a news conference alongside Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Monday night.

“From the story that was conveyed to me, she literally laid her body over her nieces to protect them, and they all went to the hospital and got checked out,” he said, according to the Austin American-Statesman. “All of them are alive and well.”

Megan Sheets22 March 2022 12:50

Tornado watch in Houston area

A tornado watch is now in effect in Harris County, which includes Houston.

Residents were warned at around 7am Tuesday that severe thunderstorms could spawn twisters in the highly-populated area.

A special marine warning was also issued along the coast.

Megan Sheets22 March 2022 13:00

Texans begin surveying damage

Austin-area residents who had tornadoes rip through their neighbourhoods on Monday evening are now beginning to see the full extent of the damage.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott had urged those affected to wait until morning to begin surveying the wreckage.

“Do not endanger yourself by trying to rush in and try to save something now,” he said at a news conference on Monday night.

“When you have a tornado rip through a community you are going to have downed power lines, and those are going to be deadly dangerous.”

Kristie Wofford looks at the damage after a tornado heavily damaged several homes on Oxford Drive in Round Rock, Texas, on Monday
Kristie Wofford looks at the damage after a tornado heavily damaged several homes on Oxford Drive in Round Rock, Texas, on Monday (AP)
Megan Sheets22 March 2022 13:20

ICYMI: Truck is tossed by tornado before calmly driving off

A video of a pickup truck being tossed by a tornado before continuing on its way has gone viral as viewers share their shock that the driver appeared uninjured.

The footage recorded by storm chaser Brian Emfinger shows a twister cutting across a Texas highway on Monday, where it encountered the red truck.

Swirling winds knock the vehicle on its side before it lands upright and continues driving as if nothing happened.

The video has been viewed more than 2.1 million times in less than 10 hours.

Megan Sheets22 March 2022 13:35

Driver tells how she narrowly escaped van before it was wrecked by twister

A woman who was driving her camper van van when a tornado swept through Round Rock, Texas, has described her narrow escape before the vehicle was overturned by winds.

Liz Creason, who had been living in the camper van for several weeks, told AccuWeather correspondent Bill Wadell she began looking for shelter as soon as she saw severe weather warnings on Monday.

She ultimately stopped at a Walmart and fled inside, knowing she didn’t want to be in the truck when the tornado arrived.

Ms Creason was unharmed but her van was flipped by powerful winds.

“I’m just so thankful to be alive and that I had the foresight to have the stuff ready because if my jacket and shoes weren’t right there, I just kind of stumbled putting them on and that delayed me but if I had to go digging for a jacket or something and another second went by I don’t know what would have happened,” she told Mr Wadell.

Megan Sheets22 March 2022 13:50

Thousands remain without power after Texas storms

Thousands of people in Texas remained without electricity on Tuesday morning after powerful storms and tornadoes knocked out power lines.

More than 60,500 homes and businesses were without power as of 9am local time Tuesday, according to PowerOutage.us.

Houston and Madison counties appeared to have been hit hardest by the outages.

Megan Sheets22 March 2022 14:04

At least 19 people hospitalised in Texas

While only one death has been confirmed so far, at least 19 people have been hospitalised following Monday’s storms, according to local reports.

Ten hospitalisations were reported in Grayson County and nine in Jackson County, according to their respective emergency management offices.

Dozens of buildings sustained damage in the storms, with the true toll still emerging.

Megan Sheets22 March 2022 14:15

Aerial photos capture destruction in Round Rock

New aerial photos captured by a drone on Tuesday morning offer a harrowing glimpse of the destruction wrought by tornadoes in Round Rock, Texas.

A search and rescue team is seen as residents walk past destroyed homes in the aftermath of a tornado in Round Rock on Tuesday
A search and rescue team is seen as residents walk past destroyed homes in the aftermath of a tornado in Round Rock on Tuesday (REUTERS)
A destroyed home is seen in the aftermath of a tornado in Round Rock on Tuesday
A destroyed home is seen in the aftermath of a tornado in Round Rock on Tuesday (REUTERS)
A woman walks through the garage of a destroyed home in the aftermath of a tornado in Round Rock on Tuesday
A woman walks through the garage of a destroyed home in the aftermath of a tornado in Round Rock on Tuesday (REUTERS)
Destroyed homes are seen in the aftermath of a tornado in Round Rock on Tuesday
Destroyed homes are seen in the aftermath of a tornado in Round Rock on Tuesday (REUTERS)
Megan Sheets22 March 2022 14:30

Harrowing map shows storm risk across six states

A new prediction map shows six states in the crosshairs of severe weather.

Residents of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee and Missouri are at moderate risk of tornadoes, high winds and hail on Tuesday, the National Weather Service map shows.

Megan Sheets22 March 2022 14:52

WATCH: Shoppers run for shelter as tornado strikes Walmart parking lot

Terrifying video captured shoppers running into a Walmart for shelter as a twister ripped through the store’s parking lot in Round Rock, Texas, on Monday afternoon.

The building and people who made it inside appeared to be unscathed while dozens of cars in the lot sustained massive damage.

Megan Sheets22 March 2022 15:10

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