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6 Dead in Texas Tornado: 'Everything Blew Up'

36 counties on tornado watch
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted May 16, 2013 2:21 AM CDT
Texas Tornado Leaves 6 Dead, Dozens Hurt
Johnny Ortiz, left, and James South, right, carry Miguel Morales, center, who was injured in a tornado, to an ambulance in Granbury, Texas, on Wednesday, May 15, 2013.   (AP Photo/Mike Fuentes)

A storm system in northern Texas prompted a series of twisters, one of which killed at least six and injured dozens more in the Granbury area, the Dallas Morning News reports. At least 14 others were unaccounted for, officials said; CNN puts the number injured at 100. Ten tornadoes were reported in all, including some that may have touched down only briefly. "It’s not unusual for this time of year," says a meteorologist. "But we were a little bit surprised at the intensity of it." A sheriff's spokeswoman tells the Wall Street Journal, "The tornadoes touched down about 6:30pm. Everything blew up then."

The storm took its biggest toll on the community of Rancho Brazos, many of whose homes were built by Habitat for Humanity. Some 120 neighborhood homes were destroyed, the local sheriff said. "It was terrifying," said an 18-year-old witness. "The most horrible thing I've ever been through." Thirty-two Texas counties and four Oklahoma counties were on tornado watch. (More Texas stories.)

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