At least 14 dead from storms in Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Kentucky

INDIANAPOLIS – Search crews sifted through the wreckage of tornado storms that ripped through the U.S. Southern Plains and Ozarks on May 26, killing at least 14 people and destroying hundreds of buildings as forecasters warned of even more severe weather conditions for the holiday weekend.

In Indiana, storms delayed the planned start of the Indianapolis 500-mile race (Indy 500), the most important American auto race, which traditionally takes place on Memorial Day weekend.

At least seven people were killed and nearly 100 injured when a powerful tornado struck communities in northern Texas near the Oklahoma border on the night of May 25, Governor Greg Abbott said at a press conference the next day.

He said among the dead in and around the small town of Valley View in Cooke County, which bore the brunt of the tornado, were two children, ages 2 and 5, from the same family.

More than 200 houses and other buildings are considered destroyed, with another 120 buildings in an area stretching 80 kilometers, he said.

Dozens of motorists abandoned their vehicles on a highway and sought shelter from the tornado at a nearby rest stop. According to Mr Abbott, about 125 people sought shelter in the gas station when the tornado destroyed the facility.

Everyone survived, but it took rescue teams about an hour to free the numerous people trapped in the wreckage.

“I was just waiting for something to sweep us away or throw something on our heads,” Elizabeth Hernandez, who was huddled in a bathroom in the building, recalled in an interview with Dallas television station WFAA. “I don’t know how it didn’t kill us.”

Mobile homes “completely disappeared”

A National Weather Service official said the Valley View tornado reached peak speeds of 135 mph (217 kph). Several tornadoes have hit the region, but the exact number has yet to be determined, she said.

As the scale of the disaster became clearer on May 26, authorities concluded initial search and rescue operations, the governor said. He said authorities would conduct a final search of the destroyed buildings to find any more victims, but no one had been reported missing by the end of the day.

Cooke County Sheriff Ray Sappington said some of the many mobile homes in the area were “completely gone” after the storm.

Video footage of the aftermath of the disaster shows large parts of the houses and other buildings in ruins or just piles of rubble, destroyed vehicles and uprooted trees with branches and leaves torn off.

On the night of May 25, a tornado also reached Denton County, northwest of Dallas, damaging homes and other property and downing power lines. Officials said “several people” were taken to area hospitals with injuries.

As of May 26, more than 450,000 utility customers were without power in a region of 10 states, from Texas to Michigan, according to the website poweroutages.us.