Texas tornado news: Shocking drone footage reveals scale of destruction in Perryton as victims named
Follow updates on the tornado which tore through small Texas town of Perryton
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Your support makes all the difference.An 11-year-old boy was among three people killed by the massive tornado which tore through a Texas Panhandle town on Thursday.
Becky Randall, a woman in her 60s, was found in a print shop, and Cindy Bransgrove, a woman also in her 60s, was discovered in a food bank, Ochiltree County Sheriff Terry Bouchard said.
The body of an 11-year-old boy, Matthew Ramirez, was found in a trailer park.
The twister hit Perryton, a town of around 8,000 people close to the Oklahoma border, on Thursday around 5pm local time and left a mile-long trail of destruction, the National Weather Service reported.
A mobile home park took a “direct hit” from the tornado, Perryton Fire Chief Paul Dutcher said. In addition to the fatalities, up to 100 people are being treated for injuries ranging from minor to severe.
More than 200,000 customers were without power in Texas on Friday afternoon, according to utility tracker Poweroutage.us. In Ochiltree County, home to Perryton, 91 per cent of customers were cut off.
In a separate incident, one person died late on Thursday in the Florida Panhandle when a tornado ripped through Escambia County and downed a tree on a home, The Associated Press reported.
Pictured: Emergency responders search collapsed buildings in Perryton
Forecasters in ‘Tornado Alley’ warn of more severe weather through the weekend
Forecasters located in “Tornado Alley” warned of more severe weather on the way this weekend.
The National Weather Service’s office in Norman, Oklahoma, said that the chance of severe conditions had increased for parts of Oklahoma and north Texas from Saturday evening into Sunday morning.
“Large hail and damaging winds remain the primary concern with this activity,” the NWS office tweeted.
Taking stock of the damage in Perryton
Hospital impacted by tornado treats dozens of patients
Ochiltree General Hospital treated 115 patients due to Thursday’s tornado in Perryton, according to a Facebook post.
“We kind of expected to see more last night and we didn’t,” interim CEO Kelly Judice said.
“We just want people in our community to know that we’re here. We’re open. We have clinics open. We’re ready for business to take care of the people that need to be treated.”
Patients had minor to major trauma, ranging from “head injuries to collapsed lungs, lacerations, broken bones,” Judice said, and people with routine medical checkups planned were asked to reschedule.
The hospital is operating on a generator and some patients were being treated in a bright conference room since exam rooms in one clinic don’t have windows, Judice said.
The Associated Press
Watch: A devastating tornado tears through Perryton, Texas
The National Weather Service sends investigators to Texas town
The National Weather Service office in Amarillo, Texas is sending a team of investigators to Perryton in the wake of Thursday’s devastating tornado.
“Our survey team is being deployed to Perryton this morning to access the damage from yesterday’s tornado. Those results will be conveyed as soon as they are able to,” NWS tweeted on Friday.
When it comes to climate change and tornadoes, mysteries remain
Scientists are increasingly able to link global temperature rise to heatwaves, droughts, flash flooding and hurricanes.
The United States is uniquely suited to tornadoes and experiences more than any other country - an average of 800 each year. Most occur in the middle of the country over an area of the Great Plains dubbed “Tornado Alley”. Read more below
When it comes to climate change and tornadoes, mysteries remain
The United States experiences more tornadoes than any other country
Destruction and damaged wreaked on small Texas community
Tornado’s victims are identified
An 11-year-old boy was among the three people killed by the massive tornado which tore through a Texas Panhandle town on Thursday.
Becky Randall, a woman in her 60s, was found in a print shop, and Cindy Bransgrove, a woman also in her 60s, was discovered in a food bank, Ochiltree County Sheriff Terry Bouchard said.
The body of an 11-year-old boy, Matthew Ramirez, was found in a trailer park.
A mobile home park took a “direct hit” from the tornado, Perryton Fire Chief Paul Dutcher said. In addition to the fatalities, up to 100 people are being treated for injuries ranging from minor to severe.
Boy, 11, and two women die in Texas tornado’s ‘direct hit’ in Perryton
The twister hit the town of around 8,000 people on Thursday just after 5pm local time
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