One of Texas' largest cities is reeling after a tornado swept through north Dallas on Sunday night, officials said.
According to KDFW-TV, the twister struck about 9 p.m. CDT near Dallas Love Field Airport, then headed east, damaging homes and businesses while initially knocking out power to more than 100,000 people in the region.
As of early Monday, no deaths or serious injuries had been reported, the city of Dallas said in a news release; however, emergency officials told The Associated Press that they received reports of people cut by glass shards. Crews also were trying to determine whether any victims were trapped inside a collapsed structure after seven people safely fled the building, the AP reported.
Here are the latest updates:
Update 1:19 p.m. EDT Oct.21: Judge Clay Jenkins signed a disaster declaration for Dallas County on Monday, WFAA reported. Jenkins tweeted that while the situation in the county had not gotten worse, he signed the measure "to speed up aid and facilitate resource deployment to the affected areas".
During a news conference Monday morning, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said the city had gotten lucky.
“I think we should consider ourselves very fortunate that we did not lose any lives — no fatalities and no serious injuries — in last night’s storms. I think we should all be very grateful for that,” Johnson said.
Original report: WFAA-TV reported that the storm destroyed Dallas Stars hockey player Tyler Seguin's mansion. Seguin appeared to confirm the news on Twitter but assured fans that he was OK.
"Thanks to everyone reaching out about the news tonight, I am safe," he tweeted. "Luckily this is my house for sale and I have moved into a new one. I just left the area and it is an extremely sad sight to see. Prayers to everyone affected by the tornado."
The storm caused "significant" damage to six homes in nearby Sachse, as well, the AP reported. Four of those houses are now considered "uninhabitable," according to the news agency.
– The Associated Press contributed to this report.
About the Author