22 June 2023 , 09:07
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An "unprecedented" tornado has killed four people and injured ten others leaving behind it a trail of damage to people's homes.
The tornado hit the town of Matador last night (Wednesday, 21 June) and a search is underway to find anyone who may be trapped by debris police said.
The small town, with only around 600 residents, about 260 miles northwest of Dallas, near Lunnock, was under a tornado warning when it hit around 8pm.
Lubbock Fire and Rescue said: "The Town of Matador has experienced an unprecedented tornado bringing damaging winds to the town. There are four confirmed fatalities & ten total injuries. Seven of which were transported by [emergency vehicles] and three by personal vehicle."
Shortly after 9:30 p.m., William Iwasko, a senior forecaster with the National Weather Service in Lubbock, said there had been three confirmed tornadoes in the line of storms, but it appeared the one in Matador was the only that caused significant damage.
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High winds have completely destroyed homes and businesses (Twitter)The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal reported that the tornado also produced softball-size hail and wind gusts topping 100mph in other communities including Jayton, which was also under a tornado warning as the line moved south east on Wednesday night.
Videos posted on social media shows a petrol station completed destroyed by the tornado, with debris strewn across the road and abandoned cars.
The tornado that ripped through the small town caused significant damage (News 9)The mayor of Matador, Pat Smith said in a brief phone interview late Wednesday that there was “a whole lot of damage.”
"Our hearts and prayers are with the communities affected by this disaster," the fire department later tweeted.
The electricity supply has also been cut out in the town, the mayor added, leaving thousands in the wider Texas area without power.
According to the weather channel, further showers and storms are possible this evening in Matador (22 June).
The weather channel added: "On Friday, a stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. In the evening, partly to mostly cloudy skies with scattered thunderstorms before midnight. Gusty winds and small hail are possible.."
The worst damage appeared to be in Matador – a town of about 570 people 70 miles north east of Lubbock in Motley County. (Twitter)A new tornado warning was issued for Dickens and King counties through 10 p.m. as the line of storms continued traveling southeast, according to statement from the weather service on Twitter.
Elsewhere, in Morrison, Colorado, near Denver, a concert at the outdoor Red Rocks Amphitheater was postponed because of a hailstorm.
Footage showed concertgoers at the venue fleeing for shelter as rivulets of ice and water poured down staircases and lightning flashed in the sky.
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(@TheBetterDoge/Twitter)Dozens of people were injured, and at least seven were hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries, the ABC affiliate Denver7 reported
Wednesday’s tornado outbreak came six days after a tornado left three people dead and more than 100 injured in Perryton in the northern Texas Panhandle.