At least three people were killed after a tornado tore through a seaside town in North Carolina, while millions of people in Texas remained in the dark early on Tuesday amid subfreezing temperatures.
The deadly tornado, which authorities said left at least 10 people injured, hit just after midnight Tuesday in south-eastern Brunswick county near Grissettown in the Ocean Ridge Plantation Community.
The tornado destroyed homes, downing power lines that left thousands without electricity and snapping trees in half, news outlets reported.
“It’s something like I have never seen before. A lot of destruction. It’s going to be a long recovery process,” Brunswick county sheriff John Ingram said at a press conference.
Brunswick county emergency management said people were trapped in homes. Ingram said searches for missing people were under way and would increase during the day. He asked people to avoid the area while crews work to clear the streets and search for victims.
Meanwhile, nearly 4m homes and businesses were without power in Texas, where temperatures dipped into the single digits overnight.
In Houston, a woman and a girl died from suspected carbon monoxide poisoning at a home without electricity from a car running in an attached garage, police said.
