Severe storms including tornadoes swept through several small towns in East Texas, killing at least four people and injuring dozens more, and leaving a trail of overturned vehicles, mangled trees and damaged homes, authorities said on Sunday.
The storms in Texas were among several in parts of the South and Midwest that brought strong winds, thunderstorms and torrential rain, killing at least six people in three states. In Arkansas, a 65-year-old woman was killed when a tree was blown into her home on Saturday. In Missouri, a 72-year-old woman drowned despite her husband's efforts to save her as their vehicle was swept away by rushing waters after heavy rains caused flooding. The storms were headed east into Mississippi and Alabama on Sunday.
In Texas, search teams were going door to door today, a day after storms cut a path of destruction 56-kilometre-long and 24-kilometre-wide in Van Zandt County, Canton Mayor lou Ann Everett said. The largely rural area is about 80 kilometres east of Dallas.