CNN
—
More than 50 million people in a large part of the US were under a severe weather threat on Friday, a day after the storms cut a deadly path through Texas and Florida.
Three people died in Perryton, Texas, when a devastating tornado struck the town Thursday, the fire chief told CNN. The storm also sent 100 people in the Texas Panhandle town to the hospital with injuries ranging from head injuries to abrasions, the interim CEO of Ochiltree General Hospital told CNN.
And a man in Florida died after being trapped under a tree that fell on their home, Escambia County officials said.
The county, which includes Pensacola, was hit by a flash flooding emergency overnight, leading to high water rescues, the National Weather Service in Mobile, Alabama, reported early Friday, citing local rescuers.
“Widespread and significant” flash flooding continued in West Pensacola, Warrington and Gulf Breeze, Escambia County Emergency Management said. “Many roads remain flooded with water entering several structures,” emergency officials said.
Nearly 150 residents of a Pensacola apartment complex were displaced amid high water Friday morning and taken to a community center for shelter, county officials said.
Warrington, just south of Pensacola, received nearly a foot of rain in just three hours. Radar estimates show as much as 16 inches of rain fell overnight, with more expected Friday. A flash flood watch will be in effect in the area until 7 p.m
GET DRESSED
A man walks through floodwaters in Pensacola, Florida, Friday.
Many of the areas that saw severe conditions Thursday could see storms return as a level 2 to 5 low risk of severe storms is in place for parts of the South, Mid-Atlantic and Southern Plains. .
Large hail, damaging winds and tornadoes are possible in low risk areas, including Montgomery and Mobile in Alabama, Little Rock, Arkansas; Jackson, Mississippi; and Tallahassee, Florida.
A marginal, level 1 of 5 risk is in place from South Dakota to Florida and for parts of the Mid-Atlantic — a large zone that includes hard-hit Perryton. Other cities in the marginal risk area, which could see large hail and damaging winds, include Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, DC, Denver, and Jacksonville, Florida.
The storm that hit Perryton damaged homes and businesses in the city of some 8,000 residents, including the local fire and EMS departments, as well as several mobile homes, said Fire Chief Paul Dutcher, noted that several department trucks were damaged.
“A tornado formed, and it fell on us. It came from nowhere. No sirens, no time to get to a shelter,” said Perryton resident Jamie James, telling CNN he had to ride out the storm in his truck.
“There was a time when I thought I was going to die,” he said. “Everybody went crazy. Trash cans flying, ice hitting the car.”
James’ house is still standing but the structure next to it has been destroyed. He said the tornado was a devastating blow to the city where he has lived for 15 years. “There are a lot of good people in this town. … We look out for each other.”
The city’s power facilities were shut down for safety purposes, according to Xcel Energy.
“The transmission lines that supply the city with electricity have damage and several low voltage distribution lines are down in the city,” said Wes Reeves, a spokesman for Xcel Energy.
“Xcel Energy personnel are working to ensure the safety of Perryton residents and first responders. An estimated restoration time is not yet available,” he added.
As of 3 a.m. CT, more than 220,000 homes and businesses across Texas were blacked out, according to the tracking website Poweroutage.us. In neighboring Louisiana, more than 130,000 were without power, and outages were also reported in Oklahoma, Florida and Alabama.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott is deploying state emergency resources to “address the immediate life safety needs of Perryton, Texas,” according to a news release from his office.
“We remain ready to quickly provide any additional resources needed during a severe weather event,” the governor said in a statement.
Resources from surrounding areas poured into the city to provide much-needed relief.
Sabrina Devers/TMX/Reuters
A tank truck is partially submerged in water in Perryton.
Officials in Beaver County, Oklahoma, dispatched fire, law enforcement and EMS units to assist, according to county emergency manager Keith Shadden.
Officials in the neighboring city of Stinnett, Texas, also began sending officers and EMS crews. The Hutchinson County sheriff’s office — which includes Stinnett — also dispatched rescue and emergency operations following the “devastating tornado,” according to a Facebook post from the office.
Medical help also came from staff at nearby hospitals who quickly helped up to 100 people after the tornado, Ochiltree General Hospital Interim CEO Kelly Judice said.
“Some of them take patients to their hospitals, most of the staff just stay here and work,” he added.
As of Thursday, there were two tornado reports in Texas, four in Oklahoma and one in Michigan, according to the National Weather Service, with the Perryton tornado being the most significant.
Sabrina Devers/TMX/Reuters
A view of a destroyed site in Perryton as the town was hit by a tornado in Texas on Thursday in this screengrab taken from a social media video.
The tornado, confirmed by the NWS, cut some of Perryton’s main sections.
“It literally hit residential, downtown and then industrial as well,” storm chaser Brian Emfinger told CNN.
The worst damage he saw was on the northwest side of town, where the tornado hit a mobile home park directly in its path, Emfinger explained.
“The storm creates a wall cloud very quickly, and that wall cloud tightens very quickly, and then it falls to the ground very quickly,” Emfinger added.
On the northeast side of town, about 300 people were sheltered inside Perryton High School after the area saw extensive damage, the school’s athletic director and football coach, Cole Underwood, told CNN.
“We have the gym space, and we have the capabilities to help people who have lost everything and we are more than willing to do that,” he said. “Unfortunately, there is no list of things. … You think that’s what you need, but people are losing everything now.”
US Rep. Ronny Jackson, who represents Perryton, said the community needs help.
“If you are in the area, I ask you to do everything to help your neighbors. Food, fuel, water, generator – whatever you can. ”
