At least 22 dead, dozens injured, as suspected tornadoes leave trail of destruction across the South

Tornadoes and powerful thunderstorms tore a path of destruction across Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas over the weekend, causing at least 22 fatalities, including children.

At least 22 people are dead, including children, after severe weather spawned several reported tornadoes that tore a path of destruction across Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kentucky since Saturday night.

Standing in front of what was left of a destroyed AP Travel Center near Valley View, Texas, about 55 miles north of Fort Worth, Sheriff Ray Sappington said two children, ages 2 and 5, were among the people killed in what he described as mobile and modular homes in rural Cooke County on Saturday night. “It’s just a trail of debris left. The devastation is pretty severe,” Sappington told The Associated Press.

Those dead in Texas included three family members who were found in one home near the small community of Valley View. At least two additional children in Cooke County were also reported missing in the wake of the storm, and crews were continuing search-and-rescue efforts amidst the destruction.

"It took some time to get back in there because of all the damage with the power lines, and trees were down. It was kind of a monumental task just to get back to where they were,” Sappington said. Sheriff Sappington also said 60 to 80 people were injured at the AP Travel Center between Valley View and Sanger early Sunday morning during the storm.

Several miles down the road, near the town of Sanger, a suspected tornado overturned tractor-trailer trucks and motorhomes, damaged homes and knocked down power lines and trees throughout the area, Dawn Cobb, a Denton County, Texas, spokesperson, said in a news release. Deputies responded to multiple locations, including “homes and RV trailer parks.”

The fire department in the city of Denton, about 37 miles north of Forth Worth, Texas, posted on X that emergency personnel were responding to a marina “for multiple victims, some reported trapped.”

Across state lines, officials also confirmed two deaths in Mayes County, Oklahoma. Details about the dead were not immediately available, said Mike Dunham, the county’s deputy director of emergency management.

Damage was also reported throughout Rogers County, Oklahoma, after a possible tornado. About 28 miles east of Tulsa, police in Claremore, Oklahoma, said the city was “shut down” due to storm damage, including downed power lines, trees and inaccessible roads. Officials say the damage is extensive and power will be out for much of the city “for an extended period of time.”

At least five people were reported killed in Arkansas. A 26-year-old woman was found dead outside a destroyed home in Olvey in Boone County, according to the county’s Office of Emergency Management. Another person died in Benton County, and two more bodies were found in Marion County.

Another death was reported in Benton County, Arkansas. Melody Kwok, a county communications director, said multiple other people were injured.

A state of emergency was declared in Kentucky on Monday in the wake of deadly storms, including one that roared through the community of Charleston, located in the western part of the state.

Over half a million electric customers consistently lacked power from Friday night to Sunday morning from Tulsa to Pittsburgh. Although that number dropped Sunday afternoon and Memorial Day to 250,000, severe storms in Texas early Tuesday morning moved through the Dallas metroplex, spiking outages to over 786,000 in that area, according to PowerOutage.us.

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