Storms Leave Trail of Destruction in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas

Severe storms including tornadoes have swept through several small towns in East Texas, leaving a trail of overturned vehicles, mangled trees and damaged homes.

Authorities believe as many as five people were killed and dozens injured, though they were still assessing the damage from the storms that swept through an area about 50 miles east of Dallas on Saturday evening.

In Arkansas severe storms are blamed for at least one death and flooding that’s closed roads in many areas. Police say 65-year-old Julia Schwede was killed when a tree was blown into her home Saturday night.

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin has declared a state of emergency for all 77 counties after severe storms, flooding, strong winds and snow impacted the state.

Fallin said the storm system delivered widespread rain and high winds, with damage to power lines and power poles as well as trees, roofs and structures. In addition, more than 4 inches of snow has been reported in some areas of the Oklahoma Panhandle.

Five fatalities in the Canton, Texas-area have been attributed to the storms. Canton Fire Department Capt. Brian Horton said the “number may go up … once we can get into these areas.”

Video from local television stations showed uprooted trees and overturned cars along rural, wet roadways, along with at least two flattened homes. The tornado flipped pickup trucks at a Dodge dealership in Canton and tore through the business.

Fifty-six people were treated at three hospitals and six remained hospitalized Sunday morning, two of them in critical condition, ETMC Regional Health Care Systems spokeswoman Rebecca Berkley said.

According to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, four confirmed tornadoes tore through Northeast Texas on Saturday. The City of Canton, in Van Zandt County, sustained extensive damage from two large, long-track tornadoes in and around the city.

Horton asked that people who didn’t need to be in the area to stay out, “so that our teams can do what they need to do to take care of these people who are in need.” He noted that a triage center was set up at the local high school.

One resident, Ernestine Cook, told Dallas television station WFAA she rushed to a storm center just in time.

“It hit so hard, so fast. It just kept moving,” she said. “I’ve never seen anything like it after 22 years of living here.”