[ 2015-12-28 ]

Dozens dead in US Christmas storms

At least 43 people have been killed over the past
five days by severe storms across southern and
western parts of the United States.

Flash floods, tornadoes and now snow have
destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses and
snarled transport links.

The National Weather Service has issued tornado
warnings for Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma
and Mississippi.

The governors of Missouri, Oklahoma, and New
Mexico have declared states of emergency.

In Illinois, three adults and two children were
swept away in their car by the flood waters. In
Texas, at least 11 people were killed by powerful
tornadoes with winds of up to 200 miles an hour
(300kph).




Hundreds of homes in Texas were reduced to rubble
and cars were blown off the road. Five people died
in their cars on a highway passing the city of
Garland. Pedro Barineau of the local police said
they had no chance.

"There were sirens that were going off, I mean
multiple times and in multiple areas, notifying
people of a tornado. However, people on the
highway that were driving through they had no idea
that the sirens were going off and the tornado was
on them in a matter of seconds," he said.

The winds in the state have scattered mangled cars
and other debris for miles. Churches have been
destroyed and trees toppled across a 64km (40
mile) area.

"It is total devastation," said Mr Barineau. "It
is a very difficult time to be struck by such a
horrible storm, the day after Christmas."

Texas Governor Greg Abbott said his office had
declared Dallas County and three nearby counties a
disaster area. He also warned people to be wary of
snow in western parts of the state and of rivers
spilling their banks.

Parts of New Mexico, where a state-wide emergency
has been declared, are expecting up to 2ft (60cm)
of snow. The New Mexico city of Roswell recorded
12.3 inches of snow on Sunday - an area record for
a single day.

Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin declared a state of
emergency on Sunday in anticipation of blizzard
conditions and an ice storm.

The bad weather forced the cancellation of nearly
1,500 flights on Sunday, according to tracking
service FlightAware.com. About half of the
cancelled flights were in Dallas, a major US
flight hub.

While extreme weather in the US around Christmas
is not unknown, meteorologists say that
unseasonably high temperatures in some areas
contributed to the severity of the storms.

The forecast for the eastern US is for high
temperatures to continue - Washington DC pushed
close to 70F (21C) on Sunday.

Source - BBC

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