PERRYTON, Texas – A powerful and deadly tornado struck the Texas Panhandle city of Perryton on Thursday as part of a widespread, severe weather outbreak.
The smell of natural gas surrounded residents as they used their hands to dig through the debris Thursday, looking for loved ones and salvaging what they could from the destruction.
The tornado took a direct shot to the town, leaving 3 people dead and about 56 people injured, Ochiltree County Sheriff Terry Bouchard told the Amarillo Globe-News. Two people are still missing as of Thursday evening.
The National Weather Service in Amarillo told FOX Weather that the tornado was on the ground for approximately 8 miles before lifting. The team plans to survey the damage Friday and determine the strength of the tornado as well as its rating on the Enhanced Fujita Scale.
DRONE VIDEO SHOWS ‘SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE’ MOMENTS AFTER TORNADO RIPS THROUGH TEXAS TOWN
The tornado hit about 5 p.m. in the northwestern part of town and traveled southeast to the other side of town, creating a path of destruction in its wake, Bouchard said.
Mobile homes were destroyed, as well as some home and businesses in its path. The local police department was even hit by the tornado, according to Bouchard.
“The community is without power,” the sheriff told the newspaper. “We are probably one of the only places with power in the community, thanks to our generator.”
A curfew was issued overnight until 6 a.m. Friday when clean-up and rescue efforts continue. Shelters were also set up at nearby churches and the high school.
Video recorded by Jaxon Lehnert captured the destruction inflicted on Perryton’s main street, with multiple buildings and vehicles heavily damaged.
Drone video provided to FOX Weather from storm chaser Brian Emfinger showed the path of destruction the twister took as it moved through the town with a population of about 8,200.
“There is so much damage and destruction,” Emfinger said.
DEADLY TORNADO SWEEPS ACROSS TEXAS DURING MULTIDAY SEVERE WEATHER THREAT
Witnesses in the area reported storm victims being pulled from the rubble, and storm chasers were requesting ambulances respond to the town to help the injured.
“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.”
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.