Monster Tornado Rips Through Perryton Overnight Killing 3 & Injuring Dozens

PERRYTON, TX – A massive tornado ripped through Perryton, Texas, Thursday night leaving at least three people dead, two missing and 56 injured, according to the The Ochiltree County Sherriff's Office.

Perryton is in the Texas Panhandle on the Oklahoma border.  

Perryton Fire Chief Paul Dutcher said the number of injured may be around 100 people. 

Governor Greg Abbott last night directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management to deploy state emergency response resources to meet urgent life-safety needs in Perryton due to the tornado that has impacted the community.
 
“The State of Texas is swiftly deploying critical emergency response resources to provide all necessary support and assistance to protect Texans and help those impacted by tornadoes in Perryton,” said Governor Abbott. “I encourage all Texans to heed the guidance of state and local officials and to take all necessary precautions to protect yourselves and your loved ones. We remain ready to quickly provide any additional resources needed over the course of this severe weather event. I ask all Texans to join Cecilia and me in praying for our fellow Texans who have been impacted by this horrific storm. Stay safe, Texas.” 
 
At the Governor’s direction, TDEM has deployed the following state resources to support tornado response operations:

• Texas Department of Transportation: Road crews to support traffic control and monitor road conditions
• Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (Texas A&M Public Works Response Team): Personnel and equipment to help restore water, wastewater and other utilities
• Texas A&M Forest Service: Saw Crews and Incident Management Teams
• Texas Department of State Health Services: Emergency Medical Task Force ambulance buses, ambulance strike teams
• Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (Texas A&M Task Force 1 and Texas Task Force 2): Urban Search and Rescue teams
• Texas Parks and Wildlife Department: Game Wardens
• Texas Commission on Environmental Quality: Crews to monitor and respond to air, water and wastewater needs
• Texas Department of Public Safety: Texas Highway Patrol

 
Once it is safe to do so, Texans are encouraged to self-report damage assessment surveys using the Individual State of Texas Assessment Tool (iSTAT): damage.tdem.texas.gov. The survey can be filled out in English and Spanish.
 
Additional updates will be provided as the response and recovery efforts continue. Severe weather safety information can be accessed at texasready.gov.

There is currently no power to Perryton.

"Our crews are arriving on site and are assisting in removing lines from cars and across the roads. We are patrolling the transmission feeds into the city and also assessing possible damage at the main substation in town. One of the three main transmission feeds into the city was apparently undamaged, but we deenergized it for safety reasons," Xcel Energy said in a statement.

This is a developing story.