Severe weather conditions have affected over 50 million people across the United States, leading to three fatalities in Texas and Florida. A tornado in Perryton, Texas, resulted in the deaths of three people and injured up to 100 people, sending them to the hospital with injuries ranging from head wounds to abrasions, according to the Ochiltree General Hospital interim CEO. Furthermore, a person in Florida died after being trapped under a tree that fell on their home, and flash flooding emergencies were reported in Escambia County, which includes Pensacola. The National Weather Service reported that “widespread and significant” flash flooding was continuing in West Pensacola, Warrington, and Gulf Breeze. Nearly 150 residents of an apartment complex in Pensacola were moved amid the rising water and taken to a community center for shelter, as the area received nearly a foot of rain in just three hours.
The severe weather conditions that affected many areas on Thursday are expected to continue on Friday, with a level 2 of 5 slight risk of severe storms in place for parts of the South, Mid-Atlantic, and Southern Plains. The areas that could see large hail, damaging winds, and tornadoes include Montgomery and Mobile in Alabama, Little Rock in Arkansas, Jackson in Mississippi, and Tallahassee in Florida. A marginal, level 1 of 5 risk is also in place from South Dakota to Florida and for parts of the Mid-Atlantic. The storm that swept through Perryton damaged homes and businesses in the town of some 8,000 residents, including the local fire department and EMS, as well as multiple mobile homes, Fire Chief Paul Dutcher said, noting many of the department’s trucks were damaged.
The city’s power facilities were shut off for safety purposes, and as of 3 a.m. CT, more than 220,000 homes and businesses across Texas were in the dark. In neighboring Louisiana, more than 130,000 were without power, and outages were also reported in Oklahoma, Florida, and Alabama. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has deployed state emergency resources to “meet urgent life-safety needs in Perryton, Texas,” according to a news release from his office. Resources from surrounding areas have poured into the city to provide much-needed assistance. Officials in Beaver County, Oklahoma, sent fire, law enforcement, and EMS units to help, and neighboring city officials in Stinnett, Texas, also began sending officers and EMS crews.
Medical help also came from staff at nearby hospitals who swiftly aided up to 100 people after the tornado struck, Ochiltree General Hospital Interim CEO Kelly Judice said. The tornado, which was confirmed by the NWS, cut through some of Perryton’s main sections. On the northeast side of town, about 300 people were sheltered inside Perryton High School after the area saw extensive damages, the school’s athletic director and football coach, Cole Underwood, told CNN. US Rep. Ronny Jackson, who represents Perryton, said the community needs help. “If you are in the area, I ask that you do whatever you can to help your neighbors. Food, fuel, water, generators – anything you can.”
Original Story at www.cnn.com – 2023-06-16 12:50:00