[ARRL-OK] DALLAS Tornadoes sweep area, destroying homes and cutting power

[Mark Conklin]

4/3/2012
Dallasnews.com


DALLAS, TX - Wave after wave of storms battered North Texas on Tuesday afternoon,
smashing homes and apartment complexes, toppling trees, tossing vehicles and
forcing thousands of students to seek shelter inside their schools.

The National Weather Servicereported at least a dozen tornadoes
in the Dallas-Fort Wortharea. — including two in Dallas and as many as four in
Hunt County.

Amazingly, given the ferocity of the
storms, officials reported no deaths and surprisingly few injuries, though
there will certainly be many millions of dollars worth of property damage.

Forney, 20 miles east of Dallas, was among the hardest-hit areas.
Seven people were reported injured, and three were taken to hospitals. 


Another of the hardest-hit areas was south Arlingtonand adjacent
Kennedale. Four minor injuries were treated in the emergency room at Arlington
Memorial Hospital, and one man checked in to Methodist Hospital in Mansfield
for help with his oxygen supply after losing electricity. 


A spokeswoman for Parkland Hospitalsaid no weather related
patients had been reported.
Airlines canceled more than 400 departures from Dallas-Fort Worth
International Airport, and another 40 incoming flights were diverted during the
height of the storm.

D/FW International Airport spokesman David Magaña said that
airlines reported more than more than 110 aircraft sustained varying degrees of
hail damage during the storm.

Lancaster is hard-hit
Some of the worst damage occurred in the southern Dallas County
towns of Lancaster and DeSoto.

Arlandra Garrett, a resident at the PortofinoApartment complex
in Lancaster, recalled the moment the storm hit: “Everybody started screaming,”
she said. “Then the apartment started shaking, and then we heard a lot of
noise. The lights went off.

“It was over real quick,” she said. “It was over faster than four
blinks.”

Her apartment building appeared unscathed, but two other
buildings in the complex suffered serious damage. The complex was littered with
roofing debris and tree limbs. Windows were blown out and one building roof was
completely ripped off. Winds had jostled cars around the parking lot and blown
out the windows of one SUV.
Police cleared residents out of the heavily-damaged buildings.
Jazmine Daniel, 24, was at home in her apartment with three young kids when the
storm hit. “I saw the funnel cloud drop. When it hit, it was taking the windows
out of the Walgreen’s. It sounded like a bomb went off.”

As she talked, police led her and her children away from the
damaged building. Asked what she would do next, she said: “We don’t know yet,
that’s what we’re trying to figure out.”

Linda and Brenda Nealy walked around their neighborhood assessing
the damage. The twin sisters have houses on Potomac Drive near the Cedar HillChristian Academy, which lost much of its roof. Roof shingles and boards were
scattered across the Nealy sisters' lawns

“This is our community,” Brenda said. “I never thought I'd be in
a situation like this.”

They braved the heavy rain to check on neighbors whose houses
were turned inside out.

“We are trying to offer help,” Linda said. “Our electricity isn't
working but at least we can help people” get organized and pick up the pieces
of their houses that are left, they said.

Damage in Forney
East of Dallas-Fort Worth, a tornado also caused major damage in
Forney.

The city reported extensive damage to Crosby Elementary and in
the Diamond Creek subdivision, but officials hadn’t totaled the number of homes
damaged because they were still canvassing neighborhoods. Non-residents were
ordered out of the area.

In Diamond Creek, storm debris littered yards and sidewalks.
Chunks of insulation lay along with children’s toys. Bags from overturned trash
cans were strewn across sidewalks.

Officials said the staff and students of Crosby Elementary were
moved to Criswell Elementary after the storm passed. Everyone was reported
safe.

On Pin Oak Drive in Desoto, a few houses had roofs blown off.
Devarrius√ Foote was hiding in his bathroom when he
heard the tornado. “It was a big whooshing sound,” he said. As soon as it went
by, he said that he went outside and saw it between two houses across the
street.

“I wasn't scared. I was more amazed,” he said.

A neighbor, Tlexia√ Thomas, had a roof
blown off, windows blown out, and living room furniture overturned.
“I came home crying, said Thomas. “You can see the sky upstairs
in my house,” she said.

Heavy property damage also was reported in a neighborhood just
north of Bonnie View Road and Interstate 20. Seven homes were totally
demolished, and 47 homes damaged, including 40 that were considered
uninhabitable, city officials reported.

Nearby, 50 tractor trailer trucks were damaged at a trucking
company, Dallas County officials said.
Two shelters were set up for residents in the area who needed a
temporary place to stay: Tommie AllenRecreation Center, at 7071 Bonnie View;
and Kiest Park Recreation Center, at 3080 South Hampton.
Dallas Fire Chief George Tomasovic said gas has been cut off to
the damaged homes and an additional 100 homes in the neighborhood were without
power.

So far, there have been no reports of injuries in the area,
Tomasovic said. “That's just amazing,” he said.