Tornado hits heat-stricken Texas, kills four

A powerful tornado has left at least four people dead and injured 10in Texas, the southern US state. People in Texas were already grappling with a heat wave.

"The town of Matador has experienced an unprecedented tornado bringing damaging winds," the fire service in the neighbouring city of Lubbock said in a statement posted to Twitter Thursday.

"There are four confirmed fatalities & ten total injuries," it said.

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The fire service added that with temperatures spiking, the city had opened a cooling centre for residents. Matador City has a population of about 600. It is the main city in Motley County in north Texas.

The United States National Weather Service confirmed the death toll and described the "significant damage" on the west side of Matador where several buildings were heavily damaged or destroyed.

The NWS reported at least four tornadoes on Wednesday in Texas. Rain and strong winds also hit some cities in the state. A similar storm hit Perryton killing three people and injuring about 100 last week. Perryton is a town in the Texas Panhandle with a population of about 8,000 people. A storm-chaser drone video showed several buildings, including mobile homes, destroyed or damaged. Trees could be seen uprooted and vehicles overturned.

Storm chaser Brian Emfinger, who shot drone footage over Perryton, said he saw "significant damage", including in the industrial section of town.

"Unfortunately northwest of there, there is just mobile home after mobile home after mobile home that is just completely destroyed. There is significant damage," Emfinger told Fox Weather's YouTube channel.

Texas and parts of the southern United States have been facing storms and a severe heatwave in recent days, with temperatures topping 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 Celsius).

Several cities have made air-conditioned shelters available. These include Lubbock, and Houston among others.

Also Read | US: At least four dead as tornado ravages Texas town, hundreds injured

These stepstaken by city authorities have put a strain on the Texas power grid. It operates independently from the rest of the country and is witnessing high demand. The demand is greater especially in the afternoon hours because of the heat.

On Thursday, more than 220,000 people were without power, according to Poweroutage.us, which tracks power outages across the country.

(With inputs from agencies)

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