UPDATE, 8:33 a.m.
Local officials in Van have announced "multiple fatalities" as a result of the reported tornado that touched down in the eastern Van Zandt County town overnight. The exact number is unknown at this time, officials said.
Earlier on May 11, two people were reported in critical condition and 10 others missing after a line of severe storms hit Van Zandt County on Sunday night, according to hospital and emergency officials.
Original story:
Severe weather across North Texas and East Texas resulted in property damage and injuries on May 10. In Denton County, a tornado touched down in Argyle and that same storm did major damage in Denton on Sunday afternoon. Later that night, a possible tornado in eastern Van Zandt County touched down in Van and damaged about 30 percent of the town. In Van, 10 people remain missing in the storm’s aftermath, local officials said.
Van Zandt County Fire Marshal Chuck Allen told Tyler-based KLTV that around 8:45 p.m., a storm spread damage from north of Edom through Grand Saline, with Van suffering damage including destroyed homes, uprooted trees and downed power lines, according to Allen.
At least 26 people were taken to hospitals and that injuries range from life-threatening to minor, KLTV said. First responders established a triage at First Baptist Church in Van. American Red Cross staff said that at least 50 people are sheltered.
Allen says authorities are going door to door in a second search for additional injured people.
In Denton County, the storm that struck Argyle and Denton damaged homes and cars and downed trees and power lines, but no major injuries were reported.
Elsewhere, officials say two groups of people in North Texas had to be rescued by helicopters after rising floodwaters left them stranded.
Denton County Deputy Fire Marshal Marc Dodd says a Texas National Guard helicopter airlifted four adults and one infant on Sunday from the roof of their home near the city of Krum.
Dodd says another helicopter rescued two adults near the city of Sanger from the roof of their pickup truck, which video showed was surrounded by rushing water.
He says 10 others in the county had to evacuate their homes.
National Weather Service meteorologist Matt Staley says some locations in North Texas have gotten from six to seven inches of rain over the past four days.
Authorities made dramatic rescues of some people in the town of Krum -- they were stranded by flash floods after torrential rains.
Denton County Emergency Services Chief Jody Gonzalez said Sunday that multiple rescues had been performed from flooded streets and homes in the small town located about 50 miles northwest of Dallas.
