TORNADOES RIP THROUGH TEXAS AND FLORIDA, KILLING AT LEAST 4

June 16, 2023
2 years ago

Tornadoes tore through parts of the United States on Thursday night, killing at least four people and injuring dozens of others, officials said.

Three of the deaths occurred in Perryton, Texas, where a tornado destroyed homes and communication towers. The victims were identified as Becky Randall, a woman in her 60s who was found in a print shop; Cindy Bransgrove, a woman also in her 60s who was found in a food bank; and Matthew Ramirez, an 11-year-old boy who was found in a trailer park, according to the Ochiltree County Sheriff Terry Bouchard.

Another 56 people in Perryton were injured and one person -- identified as 64-year-old Ruben Villegas -- is missing, Bouchard said.

Meanwhile, one person died in Pensacola, Florida, after a tree fell on their home during a tornado, according to the Escambia County Fire Rescue.

There were several reported tornadoes throughout the night across Texas, Oklahoma, Michigan and Florida.

Perrtyon, a small town near Texas' state line with Oklahoma, was particularly hard hit, with the most significant damage on the north and east sides, according to Perryton Fire Chief Paul Dutcher.

Dutcher told ABC News on Thursday that the number of injured may be around 100 people. The injuries range from minor to severe and multiple patients have be transferred to trauma centers.

There is currently no power to Perryton, according to Xcel Energy, an electric utility and natural gas delivery company.

"Our crews are arriving on site and are assisting in removing lines from cars and across the roads," the company told ABC News in a statement. "We are patrolling the transmission feeds into the city and also assessing possible damage at the main substation in town. One of the three main transmission feeds into the city was apparently undamaged, but we deenergized it for safety reasons."