Tornado Count Hits 16; Cornyn Tours Arlington Damage
ARLINGTON (CBSDFW.COM) - The National Weather Service now says 16 tornadoes hit across North Texas on Tuesday. NWS crews determined that the damage caused in southwest Denton County was done by an EF-0 twister. They also say there was a second tornado to the northeast of Forney.
Today Senator John Cornyn joined Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck, checking out the damage firsthand.
Cornyn walked through an Arlington neighborhood slammed by the tornado, beginning at St. Barnabas Methodist Church.
"They'll have a sunrise service here on Sunday but they'll probably have to meet someplace else for the next few weeks while they clean up the damage," he said after speaking with church leaders.
Cornyn and Cluck stopped by the home of Twila Myer, who showed them damage there -- including a hole in roof where all of her attic insulation was sucked out.
"It's completely gone," she said. "We don't know where it went. Just sucked out."
At one point Cornyn put on gloves and helped residents and volunteers pick up debris. "You know I didn't know what to expect. This is pretty, pretty overwhelming."
After seeing the devastation caused in Arlington the senator said, "One of the most amazing things about this storm, as destructive as it was, is that no lives were lost and we're all certainly grateful for that."
Now he hopes for quick action to get federal disaster declaration to provide help to the tornado-struck areas in DFW.
The senator said he's now hoping for quick action in getting a federal disaster declaration. "This is not a partisan issue and I think it really distracts from the job at hand which is trying to get people back in their homes and back on their feet."
Also Check Out:
