PERRYTON, Texas – Three people have been killed and dozens of others were injured in a tornado Thursday night in Perryton.
Update 6 a.m. EDT June 16: The death toll from a tornado that hit Perryton has risen as city officials say at least three people were killed and dozens hospitalized when the storm hit Thursday evening.
Two of the fatalities happened in the downtown business district of Perryton and another person died in a trailer park in the northeast part of the city, fire chief Paul Dutcher told CNN.
— Debbie Lord, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
Original story: Perryton Fire Chief Paul Dutcher told KVII that one person was killed in a mobile home park that was hit directly by the tornado, according to the Associated Press. Around 30 trailers were damaged or destroyed when the tornado hit around 6 p.m.
The National Weather Service in Amarillo confirmed that a tornado hit the area Thursday afternoon but was unable to determine its size, meteorologist Luigi Meccariello said, according to the AP.
About 50,000 customers in Texas and Oklahoma are without electricity, according to poweroutage.us per the AP.
Multiple agencies are heading to the area to assist with damage and rescues, KVII reported.
Areas across the South were hit with severe weather with reports of tornadoes and widespread flooding. In Pensacola, Florida, Escambia Fire Rescue confirmed a person was killed when a tree fell on their home during a tornado-warned storm, according to WKRG-TV.
According to the National Weather Service, the panhandle city of Gulf Breeze received 14 inches of rain.
