By Lateef Mungin, (CNN) — Tornadoes ripped through North Texas on Wednesday night, part of a weather system that killed at least six people and injured more than 100 others, officials said.
The fatalities occurred when the storm struck a Habitat for Humanity neighborhood in the Granbury area, Hood County Sheriff Roger Deeds said. There were about 120 homes in the neighborhood, and most of them were destroyed.
At least 10 tornadoes touched down in the area overnight, according to a National Weather Service preliminary count.
Fourteen people were still missing, and the death toll could rise, Deeds said.
About 100 people were injured, said Matt Zavadsky, a spokesman for MedStar Mobile Healthcare.
‘The darkness doesn’t help’
Rescue workers searched for the missing and surveyed the damage early Thursday. But the full extent of the damage may not be realized until the sun comes up.
A tornado may have touched down several times in Hood, Tarrant, Dallas and Parker counties, Zavadsky said.
“With these types of tornadoes, they touch down, they lift up, they touch down. They tend to hopscotch,” he said. “The darkness doesn’t help, but the crews on scene are doing a really good job to try and reach out to the folks who might be trapped or unable to get to a shelter or the triage area.”
There were reports of homes in Granbury being flattened with people inside, Hood County Judge Darrell Cockerham said.
In nearby Ellis County, a suspected tornado knocked out power for many in the city of Ennis at about midnight, said Steve Howerton, city manager.
“Several buildings in the downtown historic district have been seriously damaged,” he said.
‘Traumatic injuries’
Donna Martin, a worker at a local veterans’ organization, said some suffered injuries.
“There are a lot of traumatic injuries,” she said. “My husband told me that a car was lifted in the air. It just came in and hit so fast”
City officials were sending school buses to affected neighborhoods to help with evacuations.
The National Weather Service warned that a mile-wide tornado reported by spotters had shifted its track and was moving “right at the city of Cleburne,” a community of about 15,000 people in North Texas.
“If you are in its path … take cover immediately to protect your life,” the weather service alert said.
Officials had not confirmed whether a tornado touched down in Dallas but said the storm was capable of producing one.
CNN’s Dave Alsup, Chandler Friedman and Mayra Cuevas contributed to this report.