In Texas, a path of destruction
GARLAND, Texas — Residents surveyed the destruction from deadly tornadoes in north Texas as the same storm system brought winter woes to the Midwest on Monday, amplified flooding that’s blamed for more than a dozen deaths and prompted hundreds of flight cancellations.
At least 11 people died and dozens were injured in the tornadoes that swept through the Dallas area Saturday and caused substantial damage. That, plus flooding in Missouri and Illinois, were the latest in a succession of severe weather events across the country in the last week that led to about four dozen deaths.
A range of precipitation was forecast Monday for the country’s midsection, including snow, ice and blustery winds in parts of 11 states and heavy rain in waterlogged parts of Missouri and Arkansas.
The storm system caused more than 2,100 flights to be canceled — more than half of which were at Chicago’s two main airports — and 3,700 to be delayed, according to the flight-tracking service FlightAware. A typical day sees about 150 cancellations.
In north Texas, officials estimated as many as 1,450 homes were damaged or destroyed by at least nine tornadoes.
“This is a huge impact on our community and we’re all suffering,” Garland Police Lt. Pedro Barineau said of the suburb about 20 miles northeast of Dallas, where eight people died, 15 were injured and about 600 structures, mostly single-family homes, were damaged.
The National Weather Service said an EF-4 tornado, which is the secondmost powerful with winds of more than 200 mph, hit the community about 6:45 p.m.
In nearby Rowlett, City Manager Brian Funderburk said Sunday that 23 people were injured, but that there were no deaths and no reports of missing people.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott made disaster declarations for four counties — Dallas, Collin, Rockwall and Ellis.