VALLEY VIEW, Texas (AP) — Powerful storms killed at least 20 people, injured hundreds and left a wide trail of destruction across Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas after obliterating homes and destroying a truck stop where dozens sought shelter during the latest deadly weather to strike the central U.S.
The storms inflicted their worst damage in a region spanning from north of Dallas to the northwest corner of Arkansas. ON Monday, forecasters said, the greatest risk would shift to the east, covering a broad swath of the country from Alabama to near New York City.
Seven deaths were reported in Cooke County, Texas, near the Oklahoma border, where a tornado Saturday night plowed through a rural area near a mobile home park, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said at a news conference Sunday. The dead included two children, ages 2 and 5. Three family members were found dead in one home, according to the county sheriff.
Eight people died statewide in Arkansas, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed in a news conference Sunday evening. An emergency official said two of the deaths were attributed to the circumstances of the storm but not directly caused by weather, including a person who suffered a heart attack and another who was deprived of oxygen due to a loss of electricity.
The deaths included a 26-year-old woman who was found dead outside a destroyed home in Olvey, a small community in Boone County, according to Daniel Bolen of the county’s emergency management office. One person died in Benton County, and two more bodies were found in Marion County, officials said.
In Oklahoma, two people died in Mayes County, east of Tulsa, officials said. The injured included guests at an outdoor wedding.
Three people have died in Kentucky. Gov. Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency early Monday in a post on social media platform X, citing “multiple reports of wind damage and tornadoes.”
The small community of Charleston took a direct hit from the storm Sunday night, where several homes were destroyed and utilities were knocked out.
“It’s a big mess,” said Rob Linton, who lives in Charleston and is the fire chief of nearby Dawson Springs. “Trees down everywhere. Houses moved. Power lines are down. No utilities whatsoever – no water, no power.”
Charleston is an unincorporated community two miles north of Dawson Spring, which was devastated by a tornado in late 2021. Beshear’s father, former two-term Gov. Steve Beshear, grew up in Dawson Springs.