Residents of Perryton, Texas, sifted through piles of scrap plywood and destroyed mobile homes Friday for whatever items they could salvage — Iron Man action figures, spatulas wedged in wet ground, clothes snagged in barbed wire — after the tornado that deadly destroyed most of its downtown.
The tornado was part of a series of violent storms that hit the South on Thursday, killing five people, including three in Perryton, authorities said. There was a lower risk of tornadoes across the region over the weekend, but some areas could experience severe weather, including tornadoes, said the National Weather Service.
The severe thunderstorm watch for several counties in Alabama and Florida ended Saturday morning. But by dawn, more than 400,000 electricity customers were still without power in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, according to the site. poweroutage. us.
For people in Perryton, the Texas Panhandle community about 115 miles northeast of Amarillo, the scale of the loss is still a focus.
The city's fire chief, Paul Dutcher, said Thursday's storm victims included an 11-year-old boy and two women in their 60s, and 100 others were injured. He said that the tornado hit the mobile home park directly, and no residents were missing.
Mr. Dutcher previously told CNN that around 200 homes and a local fire department had been destroyed. Perryton Fire Department he said on Facebook Late Thursday that although the fire station had “taken a direct hit”, its trucks and ambulances were still operational.
About 50 to 75 patients are being treated at Ochiltree General Hospital in Perryton, Kelly Judice, the hospital administrator, said by telephone. Their injuries ranged from cuts to trauma, he added, and 10 patients with life-threatening injuries were sent to a larger facility in Amarillo.
Thursday night's storm system stretched into the Florida Panhandle, where one person died when at least one confirmed tornado hit Escambia County, knocking a tree down on a house, county officials said in a statement. And a man died in Madison County, Miss., when a tree fell on him Friday morning, a firefighter there said. The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said that 69 homes across the state had been damaged by the bad weather.
Of the approximately 30 mobile homes that were hit in Perryton, most were badly damaged, with one SUV snagged against the side of the home's trailer and another covered in mud, wires from downed telephone poles, and strewn clothing.
Several mobile homes were split in two. Residents there combed through clothing and other personal items caught in the barbed wire that surrounds the trailer park. Near one of the doors stood a statue of the Virgin Mary, unharmed.
“I still can't believe this happened to us,” said Leonor Marquez, 57, whose home in Perryton was damaged by the tornado. He sought shelter in his bathroom as a strong gust of wind approached, and his teenage son threw himself on top of Ms. Marquez to protect him.
“We could die,” he said.
In a neighborhood southwest of Perryton, residents and crew were clearing debris on a hot, humid afternoon, clearing away the remains of modest homes.
Priscilla Berumen, 37, of Perryton, said she was cooking dinner for her two children on Thursday when she heard a loud howl outside, as if a train were coming. He opened the front door and saw what appeared to be a cloud of funnels and debris drifting throughout the neighborhood.
“I knew there was a tornado and we had seconds,” said Ms. Berumen. “I said, ‘Let's go to the restroom.'”
After it passed, they walked outside and saw the damage done in seconds.
After the tornado hit Perryton, Governor Greg Abbott of Texas said that he deployed an emergency response team to help residents in the area.
Elsewhere in Texas and South America, people braced Saturday for widespread heat that officials said would last for days and increase the risk of wildfires and heat-related illnesses. Heat advisories and overheating warnings are in effect Saturday morning for about 30 million people, mostly in Texas and Louisiana.
Meteorologists describe heat waves using a heat index, which takes temperature and humidity into account measures how hot it feels outside. Heat advisors usually indicate that the maximum index temperature is expected to be 100 degrees or higher for at least two days. An excessive heat warning tends to mean an index is expected to be 105 degrees or more for at least two days.
Heat index readings of up to 110 degrees are expected in parts of Texas on Saturday or Sunday, the Weather Service said said in one piece of advice.
It's not uncommon for officials in Texas to issue heat warnings around this time of year, said Monte Oaks, a meteorologist at the Weather Service's San Antonio office. They usually do so when high temperatures are combined with other factors, including high humidity and westerly winds that blow hot air from the desert plateau, he added.
In this case, said Mr. Oaks, the humidity is high because Texas experiences a wetter and more stormy spring than usual.
Climate change is making dangerously hot weather more common, and more extreme, on every continent. In Texas and neighboring Mexico, forecast excessive heat over the next few days is at least five times more likely, according to an analysis on Wednesday by Climate Central, a non-profit research collaboration of scientists and journalists.
Johnny Diaz, jesus jimenez, Derrick Bryson Taylor And Remy Tumin reporting contribution.