The sound of chainsaws, tractors hauling loads of debris and people sweeping up broken glass filled the air along the core of Canton on Thursday.
The community banded together as soon as disaster struck.
The National Weather Service out of Fort Worth surveyed the damage on Thursday and determined three separate tornadoes hit in or near Canton: An EF-2 with 120-130 mph winds near Whitton; EF-1 with winds of 100 mph in Canton; an EF-1 with 90 mph winds northeast of Canton.
"It's looking a lot better than it was last night. It was devastated," said Justice of the Peace Sandra Plaster.
As soon as tornadoes touched down in Canton the judge knew what was also heading her way: help.
"My phone was burning up," she said. "'What can I do? What can I do?' And they're out here today."
A.D. Moore didn't hesitate to bring out his own machinery.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
"Instead of having to do it all by hand I brought the tractor out to try and give them a little bit of assistance," said Moore.
A helping hand like the one he got not too long ago.
"I had so many people help two years ago when my house was destroyed in that big tornado and it was just amazing to see people: California, New Mexico, we had people from all over the country here helping. Well, this was my chance to give back a little bit," he said.
Neighbors came to each others aid too.
"Everybody helped us so we're trying to help too," said Elizabeth Pietzsch.
Because in a time of need it's about picking up and putting the pieces back, together.
"We just become a closer group of people," said Moore.
"And that is just something awesome about Van Zandt County," said Plaster.
Residents say they're breathing a sigh of relief that no lives were lost in the storms.
Only one minor injury has been reported.
The city of Canton reports damage, mainly to businesses.
First Monday Trade Days was not greatly affected and is currently going on without disruption, according to the city.
Pictures of Funnel Clouds on May 29, 2019
Storm Damage Photos - May 29, 2019
The latest video forecast from NBC DFW's team of Weather Experts will appear in the player above. Keep up with the latest changes to the weather by downloading the NBC DFW smartphone App for iOS and Android!
Read the latest forecast information from NBC 5's team of Weather Experts here.
- Stay Connected. Download the NBC DFW App
- Set your push alert preferences.
- Charge your phones and tablets so that if you lose power you can still watch live weather coverage in the App.
Stay Safe During a Hail Storm At Home?
Outdoors?
Driving?
|