(Washington) A powerful tornado hit a city in northern Texas on Thursday, causing extensive damage including the destruction of several mobile homes according to a local elected official, and leaving one dead and several dozen injured, according to ABC News.
Several states in the midwestern and southern United States have been placed on weather alerts, as severe storms fueled by recent heat waves are predicted.
A tornado devastated the small Texas town of Perryton in the south of the country on Thursday evening.
According to videos shared by storm chasers, several buildings were destroyed or damaged and trees uprooted.
PHOTO SABRINA DEVERS BY REUTERS
“They were hit by a tornado earlier in the evening and are going to need a lot of help and support,” Texas lawmaker Four Price said on Facebook, after speaking with the city’s mayor. and state emergency services.
“The situation is serious”, he underlined, specifying that “many buildings were damaged” and that the State called “for medical reinforcements”.
One person died in a trailer, and more than 75 others are being treated at a nearby hospital, according to the city’s fire chief, Paul Dutcher, quoted by the American television channel ABC News.
Storm hunter Brian Emfinger, who filmed the tornado with a drone, said the damage was “considerable”, especially in the industrial part of the city.
Tornadoes, meteorological phenomena as impressive as they are difficult to predict, are common in the United States, especially in the center and south of the country.