Dallas

Gov. Abbott Declares Disaster Amid Deadly Extreme Weather

As a deadly series of storms moves through North Texas Sunday, Gov. Greg Abbott declared a state of emergency for four counties, including Dallas, amid "perilous" road conditions across the state.

The storms, which authorities have already said killed 11 people, brought dangerous conditions to the Lone Star State, including at least three tornadoes, and a blizzard in parts of West Texas.

"We need you to remain vigilant, we need you to listen to local authorities' warnings," Abbott said at a news conference Sunday afternoon.

He urged drivers to stay off roads and shelter in place, as temperatures plunged and the National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for more than 30 Texas counties through early Monday morning, among other alerts.

Abbott declared a state of emergency for Collin, Dallas, Ellis and Rockwall counties, authorizing the use of state resources to deal with the disaster.

Abbott said there have been reports of as many as a dozen tornadoes around North Texas, but meteorologists were still working to confirm how many touched down.

He did not report a total number of casualties because rescue crews were still searching through rubble and destroyed homes, he said.

 
DV.load("https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2655391-DISASTER-ChristmasStorms-Proc-12272015.js", { width: 650, height: 800, sidebar: false, text: false, container: "#DV-viewer-2655391-DISASTER-ChristmasStorms-Proc-12272015" }); DISASTER-ChristmasStorms-Proc-12272015 (PDF)
DISASTER-ChristmasStorms-Proc-12272015 (Text)
Copyright AP - Associated Press
Contact Us