13 Heartbreaking Images Of Last Night's "Deadly" Texas Tornado And Its Devastating Aftermath
1. Last night, the US saw storms crash their way through Southern states, hitting Texas, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
STORM DAMAGE: These photos are from New Diana, TX — Derek Johnson sent us these photos. He says about 5-6 live oak trees (60-80ft tall) uprooted on his property. pic.twitter.com/8A4qk3akV6
— Jesus Martinez CBS19 (@jmarttv) June 16, 2023
2. Northern Texas in particular experienced a deadly tornado that resulted in three reported deaths and over 50 injuries.
WOW! Storm chaser @brianemfinger captured a tornado ripping across Perryton, Texas, live on FOX Weather. #txwx FOX Weather meteorologists @IanOliverWX and @MarissaTorresTV with more. pic.twitter.com/fetJ4uZmxC
— FOX Weather (@foxweather) June 15, 2023
3. Professional storm chaser Jeff Piotrowski took to Twitter last night and shared images of the tornado's aftermath, which left the town of Perryton in shambles.
I need massive mutual aid at least 12 ambulance to respond to a Perryton TX. We have massive damage over 50+ homes destroyed and heavy damage downtown. #txwx pic.twitter.com/EDzIDLTU0J
— Jeff Piotrowski (@Jeff_Piotrowski) June 15, 2023
4.Perryton is a small community that has about 8,500 residents.
5. The tornado left local neighborhoods — especially mobile home parks — destroyed.
Complete devastation in Perryton, TX. @ABC7Amarillo @StormSearch7 pic.twitter.com/Bp4csvgcas
— Mitchell Downing (@DowningMitchell) June 16, 2023
6.Houses were either knocked down or seriously damaged. This family's car was tossed into their front door.
7.Footage taken the following morning shows that fires have sparked in the rubble.
8. Ochiltree County Sheriff Terry Bouchard told NBC affiliate KAMR that the tornado caused "a lot of damage" to local businesses as well.
Perryton, #Texas #tornado damage. Video by Jaxon Lehnert pic.twitter.com/pJ1DueVm3d
— Kaitlin Wright (@wxkaitlin) June 16, 2023
9.Many experienced power outages as lines fell.
10.Downtown was similarly the worse for wear. Cars were destroyed by falling buildings...
11....and others were knocked on their sides by heavy winds.
12.Now families are recovering what they can.
13. Emergency responders are on the ground, providing help to all and any. Meanwhile, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has released the following statement: "We remain ready to quickly provide any additional resources needed over the course of this severe weather event. I ask all Texans to join Cecilia and me in praying for our fellow Texans who have been impacted by this horrific storm. Stay safe, Texas.”
Perryton, #Texas #TORNADO Damage - Drone video. #TXwx pic.twitter.com/KlOW6ZbqP2
— Chicago & Midwest Storm Chasers (@ChicagoMWeather) June 16, 2023
Also from the governor's office:
"Texans are encouraged to self-report damage assessment surveys using the Individual State of Texas Assessment Tool (iSTAT): damage.tdem.texas.gov.
"Additional updates will be provided as the response and recovery efforts continue. Severe weather safety information can be accessed at texasready.gov."