Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declared a state of disaster due to severe thunderstorms, tornadoes and flash flooding in seven Texas counties that killed five people and left an untold number of others injured.
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Abbott issued the declaration Monday for Bosque, Clay, Denton, Eastland, Gaines, Montague and Van Zandt counties.
- Last Thursday, a Gainesville man was killed when his car was swept off the road. His body was later found in his car, in a creek off Spring Creek Road in rural Cooke County.
- On Saturday a woman was killed in Eastland County after a tornado destroyed her home in Cisco.
- Sunday night, a Corsicana man died after he got out of his vehicle, which had been swept off of the road, and drowned
- Sunday night, two people were killed in Van and three remain missing after an EF-3 tornado tore through the small town.
The declaration authorizes further mobilization of state resources to assist impacted communities.
"The Governor’s declaration follows an elevated activation of the Texas State Operations Center (SOC) to enable rapid deployment of state resources announced on Friday, May 4," the governor's office said Monday in a news release.
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“Severe storms continue to impact areas across the State of Texas and I strongly urge everyone to take all possible precautions to ensure their safety. Declaring a state of disaster in these counties will enable Texas to activate state resources to help affected communities as efficiently and effectively as possible,” Abbott said in a news release. “Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have lost their lives, their families and all of our affected communities. I want to thank the first responders who are working tirelessly to provide shelter, care and resources to impacted areas.”
Additional counties may be added to the governor's declaration as the situation develops.
NBC 5 Meteorologists say rain remains in the forecast through the weekend, increasing the chance for more flooding.
