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At least six people were killed and dozens more were injured as the year's deadliest tornado outbreak struck northern Texas late Wednesday, authorities said.
Hood County Sheriff Roger Deeds told a news conference early Thursday that the death toll could grow as 14 people remained unaccounted for.
"It's definitely a nightmare," Deeds said.
Granbury, a town of 8,000 about 65 miles southwest of Dallas, was perhaps the worst-hit area. Images of the town revealed leveled homes, badly damaged cars, uprooted trees and downed power lines.
All six of the people confirmed killed were in the Rancho Brazos neighborhood on the outskirts of Granbury, Deeds said. He added that the homes there were mostly built within the past five years by Habitat for Humanity.
“It's rough, very rough. Everything's demolished," said another resident hurrying away from the neighborhood with her arms around a child. "It was like hell."
Shortly after 3 a.m. ET, Gordon said on Twitter that rescue crews would resume their search at daybreak. He reported "widespread damage."
NBCDFW.com reporter Omar Villafranca posted on Twitter that the city of Cleburne, east of Granbury, had been declared a disaster area Thursday morning. NBCDFW.com reporter Jeff Smith said that "dozens of homes" had been destroyed in Cleburne.
Just before Cleburne was hit, storm spotters reported seeing a mile-wide tornado in the area, NBCDFW.com reported. Additionally, winds of 80 mph were reported in the town, according to the National Weather Service, which recorded three tornado reports in northern Texas.
Keaton Taylor, assistant manager of a Home Depot store in Cleburne, told NBCDFW.com there was extensive damage. The store was staying open all night for people who needed supplies or shelter, Taylor said.
A constable in Johnson County, where Cleburne is located, confirmed that there were injuries in the area, NBCDFW.com reported. Ambulances were also seen leaving the area.
NBCDFW.com reported heavy damage at Gerard Elementary School in Cleburne. State troopers had cordoned off an area near the school, according to Villafranca.
Along with the six fatalities, NBCDFW.com reported there might have been as many as 100 people injured in and near Granbury. Two neighborhoods there were struck about 8 p.m. local time (9 p.m. ET), according to The Associated Press.
"The house started shaking," one witness told NBCDFW.com. “We were in a closet. You could hear it -- it sounded like a train going off. It was scary."
Officials said that local hospitals had called in extra staff members and area schools and other buildings were being used to treat the injured. Some of the injured were being taken to Forth Worth hospitals.

Mike Fuentes / AP
Johnny Ortiz, left, and James South carry Miguel Morales, who was injured in a tornado, to an ambulance in Granbury, Texas, on Wednesday.
The tornado was part of a system of severe thunderstorms that spawned tornadoes throughout northern Texas. Also hit was the small town of Millsap, about 40 miles west of Fort Worth.
Parker County Judge Mark Kelley told NBCDFW.com that roof damage was reported to several houses and that a barn was destroyed, but no injuries were reported.
Hail the size of grapefruit pelted the area around Mineral Wells on Wednesday evening, but a police dispatcher reported only minor damage, the station said.
In Dallas, raw new footage from NBC's station showed flooded streets and a jammed highway. Dallas remains under a flood warning through Thursday afternoon, according to the weather service.
The tornado outbreak was by far the year's deadliest, according to weather service. Prior to Wednesday night, there had been three fatal tornadoes this year, killing one person each in Georgia, Mississippi and eastern Texas.
Anita Foster of the American Red Cross, which opened two shelters in Granbury, told NBCDFW.com that 42 people had spent the night in the shelters. She added that only a quarter of people who are left homeless in such disasters typically seek shelter with the Red Cross, indicating that many more had been affected.
"We’re going to have a lot of people who are going to need some help," she said, adding, "It was a really frightening evening. It was a devastating event for our community."


















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