At Least 6 Dead After Tornadoes Rip Through Texas, Oklahoma

Texas and Oklahoma were hit with deadly tornadoes on Wednesday, killing at least six people and injuring up to 30. The deadly storms hit different areas Wednesday evening and early Thursday morning. The National Weather Service referred to one tornado that ripped through Polk County in Southeast Texas as “extremely dangerous” where three people were killed and 30 injured. Two others died in a “large and dangerous” twister in Marshall County in southern Oklahoma. According to CBS News, one other person was killed in Rapides Parish, Louisiana when severe weather hit, and another tornado was also reported in Jackson, Mississippi.

Residential neighborhoods in Madill, Oklahoma were torn through after a funnel hit around 4:30 p.m. local time. One body was recovered in the area according to the Marshall County Emergency Management Director Robert Chaney. The Texas tornado touched down around 6 p.m. local time close to Onalaska just 75 miles north of Houston where several residential homes were damaged. These deadly storms follow just weeks after Nashville, Tennessee was hit by one of its largest tornados as it ravaged through the city.

According to the Associated Press, 40 buildings collapsed in Music City as a result of the deadly storm. “A tornado skipped across the county,” Nashville Mayor John Cooper told the Tennessean while visiting an emergency shelter. “You do have people at the hospital and frankly there have been fatalities.” With power lines scattered through the streets, cars completely squished and local spots either sunken in or scattered throughout the area, Nashville residents were urged to stay inside immediately following the storm due to dangerous conditions. However, after those who live in the southern city were able to see the streets clearly once the storm passed, thousands banned together to help clean up local areas.

Elisabeth Hasselbeck spoke highly of the city when she appeared back on The View as a guest host saying, “To see a schoolroom shattered, alphabet cards on the ground… the devastation rocked our hearts. But I have to tell you, the soul and spirit of Nashville is so alive. They have never seen more volunteers. They called for 20,000 volunteers one day, 30,000 showed up. The Red Cross said they’d never seen a city respond this way.” She and her husband Matt Hasselbeck took time to volunteer around the city in efforts to help clean the debris. “I just heard this over and over again: ‘What do you need and how can I help?’”