Five Dead as Others ‘Trapped’ Near Valley View

At least five people are dead after a tornado hit Texas on Saturday night, authorities said.

The tornado was confirmed near Valley View in Cooke County on Saturday night before crossing into northern Denton County, prompting tornado warnings. The storm slammed into a community of mobile homes and manufactured houses south of Valley View and west of Interstate 35, Cooke County Sheriff Ray Sappington said on the Weather Channel. on Sunday

“Search and rescue is still ongoing,” Sappington said. “We do have five confirmed deaths at this time, and sadly, I think that number will rise.”

Most of the fatalities occurred at the FRF Estates, a mobile home and trailer park, Sappington told reporters. He said that children were among the dead, and at least two other children were reported missing, according to local television station WFAA.

Sappington also said that up to 80 people were injured when the storm hit the AP Travel Center in Valley View, and urged people to stay away while rescue efforts remain underway.

“We have plenty of folks on scene, plenty of first-responders out here,” he said, according to WFAA. “It would really help if people just stayed away right now, gave us a few hours to get our search and rescue done. I know some people were out of the area and trying to get back, but it’s dangerous out there. Power lines are down. There’s been reports of gas leaks. It’s just dangerous right now. Just give us some time to do what we need to do. We’re trying to still rescue people.”

Newsweek has reached out to Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s office via email for comment on Sunday morning.

Meanwhile, the fire department in Denton, a city north of Fort Worth, posted on X, formerly Twitter, that four emergency personnel were responding to a location to aid “multiple victims, some reported trapped.”

The National Weather Service (NWS) office in Fort Worth had posted a message to X at around 10:30 p.m., warning those in the direct path of a possible tornado.

“SEEK SHELTER NOW!!! Era and Valley View in the direct path of this possible tornado. A strong tornado could develop quickly,” the post said.

Minutes later, another post also warned people to seek shelter. “Tornado observed on spotter video moving east. Will cross I-35 shortly between Valley View and Sanger.”

The NWS’ latest forecast said an “organizing storm system over the central U.S. is responsible for numerous thunderstorms” from Kansas and Missouri to the Edwards Plateau of Texas.

“Current storms are expected to grow upscale and merge into a larger complex of thunderstorms by morning while swinging through parts of Missouri, Illinois, western Kentucky, and neighboring states,” the NWS said on its website on Sunday. “Damaging wind gusts, large hail, and tornadoes are possible.”

The forecast also warned that “oppressive and potentially dangerous” heat is also set to continue for at least the next few days throughout parts of southern Texas, the lower Mississippi Valley and southern Florida.