At least three people are dead and more than 75 people were injured Thursday after a tornado struck the Texas Panhandle city of Perryton, officials said.
The tornado hit Perryton, which has a population of around 8,500, around 5:10 p.m., said Trent Hoffeditz, meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Amarillo.
Perryton Fire Chief Paul Dutcher said that three people have been confirmed dead and between 75 and 100 had been seen at local hospitals. Among the areas struck by the tornado was a trailer park that took a direct hit, he said.
Ochiltree General Hospital, which is in Perryton, said it had between 50 and 70 patients from the tornado.
Injuries ranged from cuts and bruises to those more severe, and several patients in critical condition were transported to other hospitals, hospital spokesperson Amie Marrufo said.
Video from a bystander showed damage in downtown Perryton, broken off trees and damaged and destroyed homes, as well as at least one overturned truck.
“Please keep the Perryton community in your prayers,” Texas state Rep. Four Price, who represents the area, said on social media.
He said that the Texas Division of Emergency Management and Gov. Greg Abbott’s office were sending help, including search and rescue resources.
“Many structures are damaged,” Price said.
Two Texas urban search and rescue groups, Texas A&M Task Force 1 and Task Force 2, were being sent to the area under the direction of the state department of emergency management, Texas A&M spokesperson Merribeth Kahlich said.
Forecasters believe a tornado struck the city based on video and photos, but its strength won’t be known until damage surveys are done, Hoffeditz said.
The National Weather Service had issued a tornado warning for Perryton and later said that a tornado had been confirmed north of the town.
Emergency managers and other officials in Hansford County, which is adjacent to Ochiltree County where Perryton is, were paged and prepared to respond to a mass casualty or recovery event, Hansford County Judge Tim Glass said.
The sheriff’s office in nearby Hutchinson County was among the agencies who said they were traveling to the Perryton area to assist. The sheriff’s office in a Facebook post said it was “a devastating tornado.”
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said his team was monitoring the situation in Perryton.
“Heidi and I are praying for the community, first responders, and the families impacted by the storm,” Cruz said in a statement.
It has been an unusually wet May in the Texas Panhandle, and moisture instability and lift helped create conditions for a thunderstorm, Hoffeditz said. An upper-level system also played a role.
“The environment was just primed for one to occur,” Hoffeditz said. “it’s just unfortunate it hit a populated area like Perryton.
The tornado was reported Thursday as tornado watches covered northern and central Texas and a large part of Oklahoma because of severe weather moving through the region, according to the weather service.
By Wednesday night storms had left the Panhandle, the weather service in Amarillo said.
Damage surveys will be done to determine the strength of the tornado and its rating on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, Hoffeditz said.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
