TEMPLE, TEXAS – MAY 23: The exterior of the Veterans of Foreign Wars facility suffered severe damage following a tornado on May 23, 2024 in Temple, Texas. The city of Temple has reported widespread damage after a tornado moved through its county Wednesday evening. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
OAN’s Abril Elfi
4:04 PM – Sunday, May 26, 2024
At least 14 people were killed in storms that have left a wide trail of destruction across Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas.
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Authorities in Cooke County, Texas, near the Oklahoma border, reported seven fatalities after a tornado on Saturday night tore through a rural area close to a mobile home park. In Oklahoma, storms also caused house destruction and two fatalities; among the injured were guests at an outdoor wedding. Throughout the region, tens of thousands of people were without power.
“It’s just a trail of debris left. The devastation is pretty severe,” Cooke County Sheriff Ray Sappington told The Associated Press.
The two children who died were ages two and five, according to the sheriff. One of the hardest-hit areas was the small community of Valley View in Texas County. According to Sappington, three family members were discovered dead in one house.
Hugo Parra, a North Texas resident, said he spent the storm in the restroom of the truck stop close to Valley View with 40 to 50 other people. The building’s walls and roof were torn off by the storm, which also bent metal beams and left damaged cars in the parking lot.
“A firefighter came to check on us, and he said, ‘You’re very lucky,’” Parra said. “The best way to describe this is that the wind tried to rip us out of the bathrooms.”
A number of individuals were flown to medical facilities via helicopter and ambulance in Denton County, Texas, which is situated north of Dallas. However, the full extent of the injuries was not immediately known by the officials.
According to Daniel Bolen of the county emergency management office, at least five deaths have been reported in Arkansas. Among them was a 26-year-old woman who was discovered dead outside a demolished home in Olvey, a small community in Boone County.
In Arkansas’s Benton County, there was another death. Numerous other people were hurt, according to county communications director Melody Kwok, and emergency personnel were still responding to calls.
“We are still on search and rescue right now,” she said. “This is a very active situation.”
In Marion County, Arkansas, there were two more deaths.
Officials in Mayes County, Oklahoma, also verified two deaths; however, specifics regarding the deceased were not immediately available.
Meteorologists and authorities had issued urgent warnings to seek cover as the storms marched across the region overnight. “If you are in the path of this storm, take cover now!” the National Weather Service office in Norman, Oklahoma, posted on X.
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