Residents of Van Zandt County, east of Dallas, have begun the long and painful process of rebuilding their lives after at least four monster tornadoes slammed into the City of Canton on Saturday, killing at least four people, including one man whose vehicle was picked up and tossed as he was driving down the highway, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
Governor Abbott toured the devastated city late Sunday, and pointed out that least two people are still missing.
"There are more than five thousand addresses that are impacted by these tornadoes," Abbott said. "So that indicates the urgency of emergency crews getting to all of those places and make sure there is nobody who remains in danger."
The National Weather Service says the tornado that caused the most damage was a super powerful EF-3 which was on the ground for an amazing 51 miles, leaving a path of destruction a half mile wide.
"It hit so hard so fast," one resident recalled. "It just kept moving. I have never seen anything like it, after 22 years of living here."
Mayor Lou Ann Everett says there is nothing to compare with the damage that hit in her city.
"We have a path of destruction 35 miles long, of course it is spotty," she said. "Damage is 15 miles wide, we had multiple tornadoes hit."
She says the damage is 'heartbreaking and upsetting to say the least.'
The Red Cross has opened several emergency shelters in Canton, and also in Eustace and also in Caney City, which is in neighboring Henderson County.
"I have seen the rubble of what used to be homes, not houses, but homes," Abbott said. "Where people lived, and their lives have been a part of for a long long time."
PHOTO: OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR