Seven people are dead, including four children, after severe thunderstorms Saturday night spawned a devastating tornado outbreak in several North Texas counties.
Cooke County Sheriff Ray Sappington confirmed Sunday there were seven fatalities and 20 injuries in Saturday night's storm. On Sunday afternoon, Gov. Greg Abbott said the number of injured people grew to more than 100 with more than 320 homes and other structures damaged.
Sappington confirmed they had found the bodies of a 2-year-old and 5-year-old on Sunday morning. Two other children, ages 15 and 9, were later confirmed to have also died in the storm.
Sappington said an AP Travel Center-Shell station on Lone Oak Road off Interstate 35 south of Valley View was hit very hard as well as Frf Estates area, a mobile home and RV park neighborhood west of the gas station.
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“We do have five confirmed (dead), but sadly, we think that that number is probably going to go up,” Sappington said early Sunday morning. ”There’s nothing left of this house. It’s just a trail of debris left. The devastation is pretty severe.”
No fatalities were reported at the gas station where many drivers sought shelter from the storm, but Sappington confirmed at least five people were dead in the neighborhood where search and recovery was underway. Sappington said he expected that number to rise, but storm damage is making it difficult.
"Power lines are down, trees are down -- it's taking a huge effort to get back in there to where most of the damage is," Sappington said.
The Denton County Fire Department reported people had to be rescued from Marina Circle at Lake Ray Roberts after they were trapped. Boats were tossed and buildings were twisted at Ray Roberts Marina where people caught in the storm had to run for cover in a nearby restaurant.
"We thought the storm was going to go north of us and we were watching it as close as we could and all of a sudden, thank God, the people who own the place out here said, 'You can go to the restaurant over here and get in the big cooler.' And so we got in the cooler just in time and all these people started coming in, thank God, and when it hit, it was just so loud. It was like something just crashed into us," said Leann Peterson. "I didn't realize how bad until we came out."
First responders and aid organizations have rushed to the area near Valley View which was hit particularly hard.
A feeding center for first responders and those directly impacted has been set up at Valley View Methodist Church on Church Street in Valley View. Those needing a place to sleep or Red Cross assistance can go to the First Baptist Church Community Center on North Lee Street in Valley View.
The Salvation Army has set up an emergency mobile disaster unit to provide food and water at Lake Ray Roberts Mariana.
Two crews with the National Weather Service are evaluating damage to determine the strength and track of any tornado that touched down Saturday night. One crew is in Montague County and will continue east; another is headed straight to Valley View in Cooke County.
The tornado outbreak overnight Saturday is the most deadly since an EF-4 killed 10 people in North Texas on Dec. 26, 2015. The National Weather Service said a tornado with a width of more than 500 yards was on the ground for more than nine miles between New Hope and Rowlett. The tornado injured more than 460 people and caused $26 million in damage.
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