Violent storm rips though Texas town, 3 dead

Houston, June 22

At least three people were killed and about a dozen buildings damaged after a violent storm ripped through the small town of Matador in Texas, authorities said.

Matador, which has about 600 residents, is located some 290 miles northwest of Dallas, reports The New York Times.

According to William Iwasko, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Lubbock, the town was under a tornado warning as the storm ripped through the area at around 8 p.m. on Wednesday night.

"Based on the damage, there was most likely a tornado" in Matador, but that will be determined on Thursday, he added.

While confirming the fatalities, Matador Mayor Pat Smith said that an unknown number of people may be injured and that there was "a whole lot of damage", with electricity also down across the town.

He said several businesses and homes were destroyed on the west end of the town, adding that rescue workers pulled residents from collapsed houses.

"It's really, really bad,' The New York Times quoted the Mayor as saying.

Wednesday night's storm came nearly a week after a tornado pummeled the town of Perryton, also in Texas, killing three people and destroying dozens of mobile homes.

That tornado was part of a ferocious series of storms that swept across the South last week.