WORLD NEWS | Tornadoes hit South Texas near the Gulf Coast, killing one and damaging dozens of homes

LAGUNA HEIGHTS (United States), May 14 (AP) Authorities killed one person and imposed a curfew after a powerful tornado swept through a community near the southern tip of Texas before dawn Saturday, damaging dozens of homes and toppling buildings. wires, authorities said.

Cameron County Emergency Management Coordinator Tom Hushen said at least 10 other people were hospitalized, two of them in critical condition. Many residents also suffered cuts and bruises.

Read also | Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi has warned that China and Russia are stepping up military cooperation.

Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino Jr. issued an overnight curfew for people 17 and under, expected to end May 16, to “mitigate this public health and safety emergency.” Impact”.

The order also prohibits non-Laguna Heights residents from entering its residential complexes.

Read also | Democracy in Pakistan hangs in the balance and the judiciary can save it, says Imran Khan.

The tornado struck around 4 a.m. when most people were asleep in their homes in the unincorporated community of Laguna Heights, on the mainland across from South Padre Island off the Gulf of Mexico. The county has one of the highest poverty rates in Texas and is littered with substandard housing.

No forewarning. Instead, the first warning of a tornado “came out at the same time it touched the ground,” said Barry Goldsmith, a warning coordinating meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Brownsville.

“With hurricanes, we’re in favor of getting some advance warning; we know it’s probably on its way,” Trevino said at a news conference Saturday.

“With tornadoes, like Barry mentioned, unless we have a hurricane/tropical cyclone in the area, it’s not that common. So, we don’t get the benefit of the warning.”

“The hour didn’t help,” Trevino added.

Roberto Flores, 42, died after being “essentially crushed due to damage to his mobile home,” Trevino said.

The storm, with winds of 86-110 mph (138-177 km/h), was classified as an EF1 tornado, according to the weather service. It only lasted about two to four minutes, but it devastated the area.

As many as 60 homes were damaged. A county judge signed a disaster declaration and a temporary shelter in the nearby city of Port Isabel is helping 38 people.

“Obviously it went straight through that neighborhood,” County Sheriff Eric Garza said. “People don’t want to leave their house because they’re afraid someone will go in and steal things.”

Garza said his department is helping provide security for the area.

Laguna Heights, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northeast of Brownsville on the U.S.-Mexico border, is less prone to tornadoes, although it has been active this spring, Weather Service meteorologist Angelica Soria said. The region is also preparing for the start of hurricane season.

The Texas tornado was preceded by dozens of tornadoes in Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado that caused damage but no deaths were reported. (Associated Press)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)