Tornado touches down in Dallas; 112,000 without power

A tornado has touched down in Dallas causing structural damage and knocking out electricity to tens of thousands of Texas residents.

The city of Dallas said it had not received reports of fatalities or serious injuries but it was assessing the damage.

According to power company Oncor, nearly 112,000 customers were affected by outages. Some schools cancelled classes on Monday, and the city said in a press release that there have been reports of gas leaks.

Dallas Fire-Rescue Department spokesman Jason Evans said the department was responding to a structural collapse, from which seven people made it out safely. He said the department responded to multiple calls from people who had been injured in their homes by broken glass.

Meteorologist Jason Godwin said radar confirmed that the twister struck the ground near Love Field Airport and moved northeast through the city. Local media outlets reported that several homes and businesses were damaged, power lines downed, and tree limbs were scattered across roadways.

Godwin said the size and severity of the tornado will not be known until crews arrive to survey the damage.

The storm happened as multiple severe thunderstorm watches and warnings covered portions of four counties, including Dallas County, and more stormy weather was expected in the area.

Lew Morris, one of the DJs of Reckless Rock Radio, said he was at the station when the tornado touched down.

“The power went out first,” Morris said. “Within two to three minutes of the power going out I heard the distinctive whistle of a tornado.”

He said the building started shaking and he could hear the windows shattering along with debris banging around.

Dallas police said officers in one part of the city were going door-to-door to check on residents.