A tornado that touched down in Texas and tracked more than 100 miles east killed two people in Louisiana Thursday morning, the state's governor says.
The twister made a direct hit on the city of Ruston, causing severe damage to buildings, vehicles and power lines and forcing a local university to cancel classes.
A mother and her son were killed by a tree that fell on their home, according to the director for Louisiana's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. He said those were currently the only two known deaths in the state from the storm, but rescue workers were still combing through the area.
Louisiana Tech University President Les Guice said on Twitter that classes were canceled Thursday. The university said no students were reported injured, but that trees and power lines were down in several places on campus.
National Weather Service hydrologist C. S. Ross said it appears the tornado cut a track over 130 miles from eastern Texas to near the Louisiana-Arkansas border.
NBC News reports it was one of five confirmed tornadoes reported Wednesday — three of which were in Louisiana while two were in Texas.
A possible tornado left people in San Augustine, Texas, without power and water overnight, NBC News reported, though no injuries have been reported as of Thursday despite major damage to homes and businesses.
The severe weather system pounded Texas with rain Wednesday, killing a woman and her two children whose vehicle was caught in flash flood waters in Erath County. The children's father survived and was rescued nearby. He has since been treated and released from the hospital.
In Dallas, a back-up in the stormwater drainage system caused flooding to dozens of cars parked at one of Dallas Love Field's parking garages Wednesday morning, city officials said.
The storm moved into Mississippi on Thursday morning.
Edwards said on Twitter that state police and the Louisiana National Guard were assisting local responders "following a tornado in Ruston this morning that has killed two people." The governor said he was traveling to Ruston to assess the damage.
