A tornado that blew through Garland killing eight people Saturday night has been classified as an EF4, with winds up to 200 mph.
It was one of two confirmed twisters that tore through North Texas in a deadly storm that killed 11 people, including an infant. The National Weather Service confirmed that the tornado that touched ground in Rowlett was an EF3.
The Garland twister was only the second recorded EF4 in Dallas County. A classified EF4 on May 9, 1927, killed 15 people and injured 40 others.
Authorities across the area were still adding up the damage Sunday morning and meteorologists were working to confirm just how many tornadoes touched down across North Texas. Eleven were reported, including the one in Rowlett. The reported tornadoes started as far south as Hillsboro and moving north toward Blue Ridge and northeast to Sulphur Springs.
“I don’t know if it was one tornado or several,” said meteorologist Matt Bishop. “We’re trying to figure it all out.”
Residents and rescue workers continued to work frantically Sunday morning, battling early heavy rain and the forecast of more downpours in the afternoon. By Sunday night, forecasters are predicting a rain and snow mix over the same neighborhoods.
By Sunday morning, 8,000 power outages were reported, most in Rowlett, down from 50,000 at the height of the storm. Crews are expected to be working throughout the day to repair downed power lines and restore electricity to the area, said Oncor spokeswoman Khristen Jones.
Garland devastation
Meteorologists confirmed Sunday morning that the tornado that ripped through Garland, killing eight people, was an EF4, bringing up to 200 mph winds.
All those killed died in tornado-related traffic accidents near Interstate 30 and Bush Turnpike. At a Sunday morning press conference, police spokesman Lt. Pedro Barineau tied the fatalities to a confirmed tornado that hit that area about 6:45 p.m. The tornado ravaged about a two-square-mile area to the southwest and the northeast of Interstate 30 and George Bush Turnpike.
Officers were trying to determine whether there were any other casualties at the accident site, where a dozen or so vehicles had crashed. Some of the bodies were recovered in the vehicles; some were thrown from the scene.
“So many families have been impacted by this,” said Barineau. “Such a devastating thing.”
Garland police said 15 people were transported by ambulance to local hospitals with various injuries, but “none that appeared to be life-threatening at the time of transport.”
About 600 buildings in Garland were damaged, many of them completely leveled. Those include businesses and multi-family residences, but the majority were single-family homes.
“It is total devastation,” Barineau said.
Collins road at Barnes Bridge Road was closed Sunday morning because of storm damage and flooding. Several neighborhood residents were there at 8 a.m. to try to get back into their homes, but police were not letting anyone through.
Tina Kong, 39, and her husband, Andy Kong, 40, of Garland, were watching the movie “Creed” and eating dinner with their three children and four other adult relatives when the storm hit. They had received the notification about the tornado watch on their cell phones, but they weren’t too worried.
“Normally, when you get something like that you think it’s not going to be here,” Andy Kong said. “It’ll go somewhere else.”
But within 30 minutes, a bright blue flash illuminated the room through the windows – which Andy believes was a transformer that exploded. Tina rushed to the door and opened it, and saw debris flying upward. She quickly slammed the door and grabbed her baby.
The family huddled under their couch, which they turned sideways, as their roof was swept away. Tree branches fell into the living room.
“Whoah, is that for real?” Andy Kong recalled thinking.
Police are still searching the damaged homes Sunday, looking for anyone who may be trapped. As of 7:20 a.m., Barineau said, police haven’t received reports of any missing people.
“The constant rain, downpour, the cold is all going to affect everything with regard to finding people,” he said.
Police have requested more first responders from nearby agencies through the Dallas County Mutual Aid agreement. Barineau urged residents who want to help to contact the Red Cross and local shelters, but not come into affected areas unless they’re returning to their own homes. He urged people to stay home until the weather clears up.
“So many families have been impacted by this,” Barineau said. “Especially, people are home for the holidays they have family over and it’s a difficult time to be struck by such a horrible storm, the day after Christmas it is horrible.”
3 killed in Collin County
In Collin County, two people died in Copeville and an infant was killed in Blue Ridge, county authorities said.
Copeville had extensive storm damage, and rescue workers were still searching homes and other buildings late Saturday, said Chris Havey with the Collin County Sheriff’s Office.
“These storm deaths seem so senseless,” he said.
Amanda Williams said she and her family took shelter in the bathroom of her Copeville home when her husband spotted clouds “doing weird things” just after 7 p.m.
“It was over before it happened,” she said. “It was just ‘Bam’ and gone.”
The bathroom where she, her husband, two kids and grandfather were hiding is pretty much all that is left standing. “Everything else is gone,” she said.
What did she hear?
“Everybody says it’s a train. But I didn’t hear a train. You know when it’s windy out and wind blows through and it whistles? That’s what it did. Then all of a sudden my ears popped,” Williams said.
Rowlett tornado classified EF3
Dozens of buildings were damaged and 6,000 were still without power Sunday morning in Rowlett after winds up to 165 mph blew through the area.
The National Weather Service confirmed Sunday morning that the damage in the city was from a EF3 tornado. Crews expected to work all day to restore electricity to the tornado-ravaged city.
Rowlett officials are now preparing a third door-to-door search of a three-quarter mile swath through residential areas this morning. Hundreds of homes are hit, 23 injuries were reported and 6,000 remain without power.
But the city of 57,000 reports zero fatalities. And officials say zero are reported missing or trapped, Police Chief Mike Brodnax said after a 7 a.m. press conference.
The chief announced a 24-hour curfew in the areas hit to prevent vandalism and looting. Most homeowners will be allowed within the zone, but some of the homes aren’t safe for the homeowners, officials said.
Various sections of main arteries Chiesa Road and Dalrock Road remain closed at or near State Highway 66.
A handful of people were already waiting for Andrew McKibben when he arrived at Steadham Elementary an hour after the tornado hit Rowlett.
McKibben, the Red Cross shelter director, said about 10 stayed overnight. Most of the traffic has been people who have a place to stay, but need supplies.
“Rowlett has so many people with open arms. ‘If you need help, come into our house,’ ” said McKibben, a resident of the city.
One of the most needed supplies was medicine. Several who were forced out of their homes quickly didn’t think to grab their prescriptions. With registered nurses among the volunteers, McKibben said, the shelter came in handy.
City Manager Brian Funderburk appreciates the outpouring of help and offers of support, but said it’s not quite time.
“Please stay home,” he said. “If we need help, we will call you.”
Brodnax said there were a couple of reports of looting, but those seemed to be under control.
The city’s animal shelter has also been kept open around the clock.
The tornado entered the city over Lake Ray Hubbard on Saturday night, and tore through a four-mile diagonal stretch, mostly impacting southeastern Rowlett.
Some 300 trained volunteers from Community Emergency Response Teams were going door-to-door in driving rain Sunday.
“Not only did we get hit, but it hasn’t stopped raining since we got hit,” Brodnax said. “And we’re looking at an ice storm in 24 hours.”
Officials confirmed a community of a few dozen trailer homes between Chiesa Road and an arm of the lake took on major damage. Trailers were also hit in Sunnyvale, said State Rep. Cindy Burkett, who lives there.
Burkett said she spoke to Gov. Greg Abbott’s chief of staff Saturday night.
“I’ve been here 13 years and this is the worst incident we’ve had,” Funderburk said.
Brodnax served in DeSoto when deadly twisters hit there a decade ago, but said while the structural damage was similar, Rowlett had advantages in technology and preparation.
Fire Chief Neil Howard said sirens went off four times in the city. The reverse 9-1-1 calling system was also activated.
“We’ve got a lot more water coming in and that’s going to hamper our efforts the next 24 hours,” Howard said. “But we’re more than confident that we have the resources at-hand.”
That included 20-25 emergency agencies and all of the area’s utilities providers.
The deaths occurred on a day when dozens of tornado warnings were issued regionwide.
Glenn Heights, Ovilla, Red Oak also hit
More than 200 homes were damaged or destroyed in the Ovilla, Glenn Heights and Red Oak area Saturday night.
But, officials are asking that do-gooders wait until they are able to assess the full damage before sending donations or volunteers to the area.
In Glenn Heights, the Ovilla Road Church of the Nazarene, was destroyed Saturday. Pastor Ron Adams stood surveying the damage in the driveway of his home and the Glenn Heights church early Sunday morning.
The tornado tore through the east wing of the building and left church vans flipped in the adjacent field. Nearby Shields Elementary School was also damaged.
“Not a single room was not affected,” Adams said.
There were no injuries. Adams said that normally he and other church members would be rehearsing for the Sunday service when the tornado struck, but he had cancelled the rehearsal to attended the Mavericks game.
After the news spread, 80 people came to salvage what they could from the building. The 110-member church body is gathering at the wreckage at 10 a.m. to pray.
“At this juncture, the list of things we need is probably long, but prayers are at the top of the list,” Adams said.
Pastor Kevin Taylor was inside Harvest of Praise Church in Glenn Heights when the tornado hit Saturday night.
The winds rushed at the building and he said it sounded like a train, high-pitched and whistling.
His wife was sitting in their truck under the awning of the church. Both escaped the wreckage unharmed.
“I’m still alive, so I have no sad stories,” Taylor said.
The building will be torn down. Members of the young and growing church turned out Sunday morning to sift through the wreckage.
“I want them to be able to see it before we have to tear it down,” Taylor said.
In defiance to the weather and as a sign of hope, members planted a Texas flag to stand tall above the rubble.
Taylor’s phone has been ringing nonstop with offers of spaces for the congregation to continue worshiping. He doesn’t know where they will go, but he knows they will continue.
“God has been blessing us,” Taylor said. “We will rebuild.”
States of Emergency
Late Saturday, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said he was signing a local disaster declaration for the county because of widespread damage. And Gov. Greg Abbott said the state had mobilized the Texas Task Force 1 urban search-and-rescue team to help respond to the storms.
“Please help our response by staying home and off roads/scenes,” Jenkins said.
Garland Mayor Douglas Athas declared a state of emergency in his sprawling Dallas suburb.
The American Red Cross was fanning out across the region to help people affected by the storms.
“Tonight was obviously a destructive night and a deadly night,” Red Cross spokeswoman Anita Foster said. “When we lose people in disasters it really does bring home the gravity of what nature can do in a community.”
In Garland, 24-year-old Dillon Hoelscher said his family’s home on Kelso Lane was “totaled.”
Hoelscher said his father was hit by debris that flew through a window as the family of five and their two dogs tried to take cover.
Several other homes on the street were also badly damaged or destroyed.
Debra Smith said she hid in her tub on the third floor of her Garland apartment on the north side of I-30.
Smith, 62, said she prayed during the terrifying seconds the high winds tore through her neighborhood.
“That was the scariest moment I’ve ever had in my life,” she said. “I’m a Texas girl, and I never had one like this before.”
Smith escaped unscathed, but her car was trapped under a tree. Down the road, about a dozen cars were flipped over and power lines had snapped.
Reports of injuries and devastation were pouring in from various areas, Rowlett in particular.
Scanner traffic indicated that Lake Pointe Medical Center in Rowlett had reached capacity, unable to accept more injured victims. Ambulances reportedly were being diverted to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Rockwall.
The city’s 911 system was being rerouted to Dallas because the system was being inundated with calls, WFAA reported.
Numerous homes were destroyed in Rowlett, and scanner traffic indicated natural gas leaks in some areas.
On Atlantic Drive in Rowlett, Rachel Portillo and her family took cover just in time.
Portillo was home with her husband, Matthew, and their 16-year-old son, Tyler, when they heard an alert over a cellphone that a storm was coming.
Portillo said that after torrential rain passed, it became still and quiet outside.
Suddenly, she heard what sounded like a train whistle. The family ran for the bathroom and headed to the tub with their two dogs, a golden retriever and schnauzer.
“It’s amazing how many people fit in the bathtub when you’re scared,” she said.
Portillo said they stayed in the bathroom about 10 minutes before heading outside to survey the damage.
Debris littered the yards in their neighborhood. The windows were blown out of a home across the street. Items from other homes had blown into their garage, and her husband’s truck was damaged. A transformer sat in their backyard.
In DeSoto, in southern Dallas County, many homes and other structures were damaged, city officials said.
An area near Mockingbird Lane and Uhl Road was evacuated because of building damage and downed power lines. Residents were being sent to temporary shelters at DeSoto recreation centers.
The storms also dealt a violent blow in Ellis County, destroying or damaging dozens of homes.
In Glenn Heights, Kevin Taylor, pastor of Harvest of Praise Church, told WFAA the church began collapsing around him Saturday night. He said he had renovated most of the church building himself.
“This is my baby that’s been destroyed,” he said. But he said he had faith that what happened simply meant God “had something even greater in store for us.”
Another church, near Ovilla Road in Red Oak, was destroyed by the storms, WFAA reported. Emergency responders were asking people to stay out of the area so they could respond. No injuries had been reported in the immediate area. Staff members for the congregation — the Church of the Nazarene — said they plan to have outdoor services Sunday morning.
Much of the D-FW area was under flash-flood warnings until late evening. Dallas police reported high-water areas all across the city.
At one point, power outages were affecting about 50,000 people, mainly in the area’s eastern cities, Oncor reported. There was no word on when power might be restored.
Southwest Airlines reported 12 flights headed to Dallas Love Field were diverted to other airports. Departing flights were delayed for more than an hour, airport spokesman Jose Torres said.
Passengers in the airport were moved away from the windows during the height of the storms.
Delays also were reported at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, but those were because of lightning and not tornadoes, airport spokesman David Magaña said. Flights departing to Amarillo were canceled because of storms in the Texas Panhandle.
At American Airlines Center downtown, the Dallas Mavericks’ game against the Chicago Bulls was delayed because of tornado warnings. Arena officials were working to get fans indoors two hours prior to game time so they would be sheltered.
This isn’t the first time the region has been racked by tornadic weather so late in the year. Similar weather conditions led to an outbreak of twisters on Dec. 26, 2006, weather service meteorologist Mark Fox told the Waxahachie Daily Light.