Tornado rips through Dallas area and part of Arkansas

World Today

Tornado rips through Dallas area and part of ArkansasA tornado is seen in North Dallas, Texas, U.S., October 20, 2019 in this screen grab obtained from a social media video on October 21, 2019. PHILIP ELLIS/via REUTERS

Crews searched Monday through the rubble of homes and businesses torn apart by a tornado that ripped through the Dallas area the night before, and one person was killed by a falling tree in Arkansas as the storms moved to the northeast.

Around 65,000 people in Dallas have been affected by electric problems, and shelter is expecting to be opened soon.

Radar confirmed the tornado struck near Love Field Airport and moved northeast through the city around 9 p.m. Sunday, said National Weather Service meteorologist Jason Godwin. There were no reports of fatalities or serious injuries in Texas early Monday, but Fire-Rescue spokesman Jason Evans says three people were hospitalized for evaluation of non-life-threatening injuries. Tens of thousands of people were without electricity.

One person died in northwest Arkansas when a tree fell on a home in Rogers, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) northwest of Little Rock, according to the Benton County Department of Public Safety. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said “significant storm damage” occurred in northwest Arkansas.

Damage was also reported in the northeast corner of Arkansas in the town of Tyronza, where two people were reported injured, Jonesboro TV station KAIT reported.

Power was out at the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport in Highfill, about 155 miles (250 kilometers) northwest of Little Rock. The airport says flights were still departing, though security screenings were being done manually.

The storms also caused damage in Oklahoma and Missouri.

And the weather system that hit Dallas knocked down trees and power lines and caused minor damage at Memphis International Airport in Tennessee. Some windows were broken at the airport, but no injuries have been reported.

Tornado warnings were in effect Monday morning in far eastern Arkansas near the Mississippi River as the storm system moved to the east. The Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, says areas of Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee could see severe thunderstorms later Monday.

Story by The Associated Press with additional information from CGTN.