Text Only
Search

 
Severe Weather Wreaks Havoc from Texas to Iowa


25 April 2007
Flakus report (Real) - Download 273K audio clip
Listen to Flakus report (Real) audio clip

Deadly storms tore across the Mexico-Texas border Tuesday. A tornado killed six people and left a path of destruction in the border town of Eagle Pass, Texas. At least three people were reported dead on the other side of the border in Piedras Negras, Mexico. VOA's Greg Flakus has more from Marshall, Texas.

Lorenzo Tijerina, 9, (r) and his brother, Armondo, 5, look through the debris of their neighbor's home in Eagle Pass, Texas, 25 Apr 2007
Lorenzo Tijerina, 9, (r) and his brother, Armondo, 5, look through the debris of their neighbor's home in Eagle Pass, Texas, 25 Apr 2007
People all across Texas are paying close attention to weather reports as the news of devastation wrought by tornados comes in.

A tornado obliterated mobile homes and heavily damaged an elementary school in Eagle Pass, leaving debris spread over a wide area.

Power lines are down and several buildings lost roofs. Dozens of people have flocked to nearby clinics and hospitals on both sides of the border.

Mexican authorities say at least 40 people were injured by the storms and they are continuing rescue operations to help people who may have been left stranded.

In the Eagle Pass area, local police, the Border Patrol and National Guard units are assisting local agencies in search and rescue efforts. More than 350 people crowded into shelters and many more are believed to have gone to the homes of relatives and friends whose homes were not affected by the storm.

The same storm system that generated the tornados in Texas moved on over eastern Colorado and produced heavy, wet snow. Many motorists were stranded by snow drifts across roads and some 60 school children had to be taken to shelters south of Denver when their buses were halted by the storm.

A motorist sits in his stuck Chevrolet Cavalier after spinning out on Interstate 25 and ending up in the median near Monument, Colorado, 24 Apr 2007
A motorist sits in his stuck Chevrolet Cavalier after spinning out on Interstate 25 and ending up in the median near Monument, Colorado, 24 Apr 2007
A tornado damaged buildings in the community of Wild Horse, Colorado, about 175 kilometers southeast of Denver, but there were no injuries reported.

Severe thunder storms and high winds swept across northern Texas and as far north as Nebraska and Iowa, where heavy rains caused flooding in some areas.

In Dallas, American Airlines canceled about 200 flights because of the weather. Many Dallas-bound flights were diverted to San Antonio, where hotels were quickly filled and the local Red Cross set up a refuge for passengers at a school near the airport.

On Wednesday, a wave of storms moved across southeast Texas, threatening the Houston area and southwestern Louisiana with high winds and heavy rain.

 

emailme.gif E-mail This Article
printerfriendly.gif Print Version

  Related Stories
9 People Killed in Severe Storms in Texas, Mexico
 
  Top Story
Soldiers, Family Come Together To Grieve at Fort Hood  Video clip available

  More Stories
Obama Pays Tribute to Fort Hood Shooting Victims   Audio Clip Available  Video clip available
Details Emerge About Alleged Fort Hood Shooter  Audio Clip Available  Video clip available
Washington Area Sniper Executed
Bomb Rocks Northwestern Pakistan
China Ready to Welcome President Obama  Video clip available
US Urges North Korea Not to Escalate Tensions in Yellow Sea
British PM Defends Military Mission in Afghanistan  Audio Clip Available
Lebanon's Unity Government Convenes for First Time
Tropical Storm Ida Downgraded; Moves Inland
Report: Africa's Disappearing Wetlands Produce 'Alarming' Levels of Greenhouse Gas
IEA Urges Action on Climate Change
Somali Pirates Deny Arms Seizure  Audio Clip Available
Cross-Examination Begins in War Crimes Trial of Former Liberian President  Audio Clip Available
US Development of H1N1 Vaccine Hits Snag  Video clip available
Asia to Welcome President Obama  Video clip available
Obama Makes First China Tour as Economic Interdependence Grows  Audio Clip Available  Video clip available
APEC Marks 20 Years, Looks to Future of Regional Trade  Audio Clip Available
Clinton Urges 'Compassion' for Americans Detained in Iran  Audio Clip Available
World War II Museum Expansion Aims at Younger Generations  Audio Clip Available  Video clip available
North Carolina World War II Veterans Honored in Washington  Video clip available