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
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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.
‘Volatile’ tornado outbreak ruins buildings, grounds flights and shuts highways in Texas and Oklahoma
‘Worst storm of 2022’ threatens half the US with blizzards, tornadoes and flooding- Shoppers sprint for shelter inside Texas Walmart as tornado rips through parking lot
Wild video shows pickup truck being tossed by Texas tornado before landing upright and driving off
Welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of the outbreak of tornadoes in Texas.
At least four injured as storms wreak havoc in Texas
Tornadoes have left widespread misery in Texas, injuring at least four people, and the storm is now headed to Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama on Tuesday.
About 80 homes and businesses in Jack County, west of Dallas, were damaged or totally destroyed due to a possible tornado, officials said.
In Jacksboro, the town’s high school and elementary school were in the destructive storm’s path and had their walls and roofs ripped off.
“It brought tears to my eyes,” school principal Starla Sanders told WFAA-TV in Dallas.
Several people were reported to be trapped in collapsed structures about 30 miles northeast of Jacksboro, near Bowie, and the damage was widespread.
City manager Bert Cunningham said the worst damage was east of the town, with as many as four entrapments reported. About four people suffered minor injuries.
‘Volatile’ tornado outbreak ruins buildings, grounds flights and shuts highways in Texas and Oklahoma
A gathering tornado outbreak in Texas and Oklahoma is sowing chaos across Texas and Oklahoma, wrecking homes and shutting down highways and airports.
The US National Weather Service (NWS) warned on Monday evening that a severe storm system over the two Southern states had already spawned several tornadoes and had the potential to create more.
Read The Independent’s Io Dodds detailed report
‘Volatile’ tornado outbreak ruins buildings and grounds flights in Texas and Oklahoma
National Weather Service warns of severe storm risk travelling up through Louisiana and Georgia after several tornadoes cause destruction on Monday
Pictures show damage caused by tornadoes outbreak in Texas
The pictures from tornado-hit areas of Texas show roofs and walls of structures blown away by the impact and vehicles toppled on the road in the aftermath of devastating storms.
8,000 hurricane survivors living in temporary shelter under warning
More than 8,000 households who are living in mobile homes and recreational vehicle trailers after surviving recent hurricanes, including Laura and Delta in 2020, have been warned to have an evacuation plan.
Fearing that these structures might not be able to withstand the expected weather, Louisiana’s federal and state authorities urged them to keep their cellphones on and fully charged, with the volume high and severe weather alerts enabled.
In a joint statement, the emergency agencies said floods might cause the most damage to these structures.
“Repeated bouts of heavy rainfall can occur over the same areas, increasing the risk for flooding,” the statement said. “Move to higher ground if you hear of flood warnings.”
“The danger is expected to be highest at night,” they added when nocturnal tornadoes would hit.
Watch a truck gets tossed into air after getting caught in tornado
A video of a red truck getting caught in the tornado has been filmed by a storm chaser, Brian Emfinger, on Monday.
The video shows Mr Emfinger driving near the tornado as it whips up debris, when a truck appears and gets caught in the tornado.
The vehicle is tossed into the air and swirled on the ground by the winds before its occupant is able to drive it away.
In another video filmed by storm chaser Aron Jayjack a huge tornado ripping through the north of Taylor in Texas is caught on camera. The massive tornado with thunder and gusty winds packed with water swept the area as the storm chaser filmed the scenes, braving a possible impact.
Storm drifted to Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama as warning issued
After causing widespread destruction and injuries in Texas, the tornado outbreak is heading towards Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
Forecasters have warned that the storms will trigger “a regional severe weather outbreak” in these areas while Mississippi is bracing for “strong tornadoes”.
“A regional severe weather outbreak, including potential for strong tornadoes, is possible today into this evening over the Lower Mississippi Valley and central Gulf Coast states,” the Storm Prediction Center said.
For Wednesday, the weather service warned of potential tornadoes, electrical storms, softball-sized hail and winds in excess of 60mph for much of the South and Mid-Atlantic.
NWS tornado-tracking service extends red warning
A tornado warning has been extended to Waskom and Leigh cities of Texas till 1.14 am on Tuesday morning.
The National Weather Service’s tornado tracking unit has been updating the warnings for the towns through the night.
Follow the updates by NWS to know real-time updates for your area.
Texas governor says Williamson County hit by multiple tornadoes
Greg Abbott said the state is standing “shoulder to shoulder” with people who were hit by devastating tornadoes.
He held a joint press conference with Williamson County judge Bill Gravel and acknowleged “there’s people whose lives have been completely interrupted”.
He said no casualities have been reported so far, describing it as a miracle.
He said that he has already allocated state resources for recovery and placed a disaster declaration for the Williamson County.
Almost 60,000 Texas resident suffer power outages
Extensive power outages are being reported in Texas with 50,894 households suffering cuts after tornadoes swept the central state, according to outage tracking website Poweroutage.
Almost 10,000 people were hit by power outages in Oklahoma where the storms did significant damage, as well as 5,000 Arkansas.
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