A dad was recovering in hospital when he heard his wife and two kids had been killed as a devastating tornado ripped through their home.
Refugio Esparaza's family were among at least 18 people killed as powerful storms tore across Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas, injuring hundreds and leaving a wide trail of destruction. His wife Laura and their children, 15-year-old Miranda and 9-year-old Marco, died when the tornado tore through their home.
The two children were thrown across the street by the force of the tornado. Their broken bodies were found under some trucks that had been swept across the road. They died after a tornado ploughed through a rural area of Cooke County, Texas, near the Oklahoma border, near a mobile home park.
Read more: Mum 'held onto dryer for dear life' as tornado destroyed home burying her alive
Debris is strewn on the side of a road following a tornado on May 23, 2024 in Temple, Texas (Getty Images)Seven residents of the small country were killed. Family member Jesus Cancino, spoke to reporters revealing horrific details about the terrifying moments the tornado hit.
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He said: "My brother-in-law said it only took about less than a minute,” Cancino said. “He said he just laid there and all the sudden the electricity went out and he didn’t know anything more until this morning when he woke up in the hospital.”
Refugio Esparza found out about the deaths of his wife and children in hospital. Mr Cancino said: “We didn’t want to tell him but we had to. He was just devastated.” A GoFundMe has been set up to help the family pay for funeral expenses.
One of the many destroyed homes in Valley View, Texas (AP)In Texas, about 100 people were injured and more than 200 homes and structures destroyed, said Governor Greg Abbott, sitting in front of a ravaged truck stop near the small agricultural community of Valley View. The area was among the hardest hit, with winds reaching an estimated 135 mph (217 kph), officials said.
“The hopes and dreams of Texas families and small businesses have literally been crushed by storm after storm,” said Abbott, whose state has seen successive bouts of severe weather, including storms that killed eight people in Houston.
The exterior of the Veterans of Foreign Wars facility in Temple, Texas (Getty Images)Local officials in Cooke County has also set up an official community relief fund for the tornado victims at First United Bank in Gainesville. At least five people were killed in Arkansas.
One was a 26-year-old woman who was found dead outside a destroyed home in Olvey, a small community in Boone County, according to Daniel Bolen of the county’s emergency management office. One person died in Benton County, and two more bodies were found in Marion County, officials said.
In Oklahoma, two people died in Mayes County, east of Tulsa, officials said. In Kentucky, a man was killed Sunday in Louisville when a tree fell on him, police said. Louisville Mayor Craig Greenburg confirmed it was a storm-related death on social media.
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