Survivors pulled from rubble after deadly tornado destroys Perryton, Texas
Injured survivors in Perryton were pulled out of the debris following the storm after striking about 5 p.m. in the northwestern part of town. Storm trackers with Chicago & Midwest Storm Chasers documented the harrowing event as strangers rendered aid to anyone who needed it.
Tornado survivors pulled from rubble in Perryton, Texas
Injured survivors of a deadly tornado in Perryton, Texas, were pulled out of damaged homes following the storm Thursday evening.
PERRYTON, Texas – Minutes after a powerful tornado swept through a small Texas town, sounds of help could be heard echoing from collapsed mobile homes.
Injured survivors in Perryton were pulled out of the debris following the storm that struck around 5 p.m. in the northwestern part of town. Storm trackers with Chicago & Midwest Storm Chasers documented the harrowing event as strangers aided anyone who needed it.
"I know there's a few paramedic vehicles up-down the street, but they can't get back here because of downed power lines," one rescuer could be heard saying in the video.
Perryton, Texas teacher describes community response to deadly tornado
A teacher tells FOX Weather's Britta Merwin how the community responded after a deadly tornado tore through the town of Perrytown, Texas.
Tragically, the barrage of severe weather was to blame in at least 3 deaths in the town of 8,200. Up to 100 injuries were also reported, according to local and neighboring officials.
"It looks like a bomb had gone off," said Perryton resident Sabrina Devers describing her now-unrecognizable town. "The residential areas, the mobile homes, are just gone. There’s severe devastation."
Radar estimates show the tornado was on the ground for 8 miles, traveling 1.5 miles through Perryton – a town only 4.8-square miles in size.
A curfew was issued overnight until the sun rose Friday as clean-up and rescue efforts continued.
TEXAS FIRE CHIEF SAVES FALLEN AMERICAN FLAG AMID DEADLY TORNADO'S WRATH: 'IT'S MOMENTS LIKE THIS'
Fire chief saves American flag from tornado debris in Perryton, Texas
Army veteran and Booker, Texas, Fire Chief Andrew Skipper stopped to retrieve an American flag from the debris after the deadly tornado outbreak in Perryton on Thursday, June 15, 2023.
Governor Greg Abbott said critical state emergency response resources have been deployed to meet the town's "urgent life-safety needs." Neighboring counties are also sending fire, police and EMS to help.
The tornado was part of a multiday severe weather threat across the South and Southeast.
More than 21 million people from eastern Colorado and Kansas through the South and into the Florida Panhandle saw Severe Thunderstorm Warnings on Thursday. More severe storms expected Friday in some of the same areas.