MAY 11, 2015
VAN, TEXAS (AP)
Emergency responders searched the wreckage of communities in
northeast Texas and southwest Arkansas early Monday, after a rash of tornadoes
slammed the area, killing at least two people and leaving dozens injured.
Howard County Sheriff Brian McJunkins said two victims who
lived in adjoining mobile homes in Nashville, Arkansas, died after several
tornadoes were reported in the area late Sunday. McJunkins told KLSA-TV that
two other people in the town about 50 miles north of Texarkana were critically
injured.
In neighboring Texas, a likely tornado pummeled the small
city of Van in Van Zandt County around 8:45 p.m. Chuck Allen, the Van Zandt
County fire marshal and emergency management coordinator, said about 30 percent
of the city was damaged in the storm.
Allen said in an email early Monday that a triage area was
established at a church and about 26 residents were taken to hospitals. The
extent of their injuries was not immediately clear.
"Damages range from completely destroyed homes, damaged
homes, to trees and power lines down," Allen wrote.
Allen said authorities were going door to door in the city
about 70 miles southeast of Dallas, hunting for injured people. Van has about
2,500 residents.
Utility companies are working to restore "vital
infrastructures," and road and bridge crews are working to open streets
and highways to allow for first responder access, he said.
The American Red Cross planned to open a shelter at First
Baptist Church in Van, Allen said. Calls to the church rang unanswered early
Monday.
The Van Independent School District said on its website
schools would be closed Monday.
The National Weather Service believes at least one tornado
hit Van on Sunday night, senior meteorologist Eric Martello said. Weather
service crews were surveying the area Monday.
The storm was part of severe weather that stretched across
North Texas on Sunday.
Further north, in Lake City, Iowa, a suspected tornado tore
the roof from a high school as about 150 students, family and faculty attended
a baccalaureate and senior awards ceremony inside Sunday night.
South Central Calhoun girls' basketball coach Dave Birks
said they were able to evacuate to the school's basement and locker room area
about two minutes before the twister hit.
"The lights went off, and everyone's ears kind of
popped," Birks said, adding that school windows were blown out and
insulation was scattered nearby. He also said the high jump pit from the
school's outdoor athletic complex was missing and hurdles were scattered
everywhere.
Much earlier Sunday, storms struck the small town of Delmont
in South Dakota, injuring nine people there.
"Our house is flat. There is nothing left," said
Stephanie Lunder, 34, who was sheltering with her husband and four children in
the basement when the storm hit. State Department of Public Safety spokeswoman
Kristi Turman said the town's 200-plus residents were asked to leave for safety
reasons.
Also early Sunday, another likely tornado ripped roofs off
buildings and damaged trees near Denton, about 40 miles northwest of Dallas,
according to weather service meteorologist Tom Bradshaw. There were no
immediate reports of injuries or fatalities.
The area also experienced torrential rains that led to
widespread flash flooding. Authorities in Denton County said Sunday that two
groups of people had to be airlifted by helicopters to safety.