By: Sammy Wang
On June 15, 2023, a tornado hit Perryton, Texas, causing damage to many stores and businesses and left 160 injured and three people: an 11-year-old boy and two women, dead. The town is now working to rebuild their home.
Tornadoes occur in thunderclouds when warm, humid air collides with cool air, this causes air to spin. The spinning currents can drop and contact the ground, which results in a tornado happening. Luckily, some tornadoes take several hours to form, giving people who live nearby time to gather their belongings and move to safety. On the other hand, the shortest time for a tornado to form is around 5-10 mins which unfortunately gives people little to no time to get to safety.
Sadly the residents living in Perryton got the latter, with no warnings or time to prepare.
Perryton resident Jamie James stated, “A tornado formed, and it just dropped on us. It came out of nowhere. There were no sirens, no time to get to a shelter.”
In an interview, Storm chaser Brian Emfinger said, “The storm produced a wall cloud very quickly, and that wall cloud tightened up very rapidly, and then it just went to the ground very quickly…It literally hit the residential, the downtown and then the industrial as well.”
Perryton Fire Chief Paul Dutcher said two and a half blocks of the downtown area were completely destroyed. The tornado also demolished around 200 homes, and other homes were barely intact.
Additionally, the city’s power facilities were shut down for safety purposes leaving 125,000 homes and businesses without power.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has contacted the Texas Division of Emergency Management to give resources to help support Perryton and its community in rebuilding.
“I encourage all Texans to heed the guidance of state and local officials and to take all necessary precautions to protect yourselves and your loved ones. We remain ready to quickly provide any additional resources needed over the course of this severe weather event,” Abbott said.
U.S Representative. Ronny Jackson (R-TX) has asked people to help the community as well.
“If you are in the area, I ask that you do whatever you can to help your neighbors. Food, fuel, water, generators – anything you can,” Jackson saids.
Perryton needs all the help and support that it can get, and you can help by donating to www.rmhcofamarillo.org.
Sources:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjckYvUiND_AhVUhu4BHZCHDzcQFnoECCIQAw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fscijinks.gov%2Ftornado%2F%23%3A~%3Atext%3DInside%2520thunderclouds%252C%2520warm%252C%2520humid%2520air%2Ccloud%252D%252Dbecoming%2520a%2520tornado.&usg=AOvVaw3fOY5ovhEjpa5Ef06UOrG&opi=89978449