Texas tornado tragedy

Severe storms ripped through the Southern Plains of the US on Wednesday killing six people and injuring about 100. The spring tornado outbreak devastated parts of North Texas, destroying or damaging dozens of homes in the process.

At least three tornadoes ripped through the Fort Worth area. The death toll is likely to rise as search and rescue teams comb through the damage.

The worst hit city was Granbury, where the twisters tore through two neighbourhoods late in the evening. Ranch Brazos and DeCordova Ranch are located about 100km to the southwest of Dallas with a population of around 8,000 residents.

Trees have been toppled and power lines are down right across the region which is now covered in debris. Another tornado, spawned from the same storm whipped through the southwestern quadrant of Cleburne, a courthouse city of about 25,000 located 50km to the southeast of Granbury.

Another tornado hit the small town of Millsap, around 70km west of Fort Worth. Several houses were damaged but there were no reports of any injuries.

Severe storms will be possible across Arkansas and Oklahoma over the next 24 hours before moving out across the Mid-Atlantic states towards the weekend.