After Killer Canton Tornado, All of North Texas Can Come Together to Help

Dallasites who looked into the eastern sky late Saturday afternoon saw the foreboding clouds that too often here spell death and destruction during the spring. In a few horrifying moments that must have felt like an eternity, a series of four tornadoes touched down — one staying on the ground for an astonishing 51 miles. They cut a huge swath of destruction across the East Texas town of Canton and neighboring Van Zandt County communities. At least four people died. Dozens more were sent to hospitals. We read with weariness the stories of those caught in the path of nature's onslaught, literally holding on for dear life. Some braced against wind-battered doors as a roof and cinder block walls ripped away. Others rejoiced that the storm didn't strike an hour later, when students would have gathered for prom. And brave Good Samaritans, caught on cellphone video, risked their lives to wade into a fast-rushing stream to rescue an infant who had been trapped in an overturned vehicle.And we look with horror at the footage posted to news sites and social media — of the tornado, crushed cars, obliterated buildings and leveled trees. Gov. Greg Abbott, who toured the devastation on Sunday, expressed his dismay: "It looked like in areas that were filled with trees ... that they'd been ripped down as Tinkertoys, just completely knocked down."   Continue reading...