VALLEY VIEW, Texas: Powerful storms killed at least 18 people, injured hundreds and left a wide trail of destruction across Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas after obliterating homes and destroying a truck stop where dozens sought shelter during the latest deadly weather to strike the central US
The storms inflicted their worst damage in a region spanning from north of Dallas to the northwest corner of Arkansas, and the system threatened to bring more violent weather to other parts of the Midwest. By Monday, forecasters said, the greatest risk would shift to the east, covering a broad swath of the country from Alabama to near New York City.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency early Monday in a post on social media platform X, citing “multiple reports of wind damage and tornadoes.”
Seven deaths were reported in Cooke County, Texas, near the Oklahoma border, where a tornado Saturday night plowed through a rural area near a mobile home park, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said at a news conference Sunday. The dead included two children, ages 2 and 5. Three family members were found dead in one home, according to the county sheriff.
Storms also killed two people and destroyed houses in Oklahoma, where the injured included guests at an outdoor wedding, eight people in Arkansas and one person in Kentucky. Tens of thousands of residents were without power across the region.
In Texas, about 100 people were injured and more than 200 homes and structures destroyed, Abbott said, sitting in front of a ravaged truck stop near the small agricultural community of Valley View. The area was among the hardest hit, with winds reaching an estimated 135 mph (217 kph), officials said.
“The hopes and dreams of Texas families and small businesses have literally been crushed by storm after storm,” said Abbott, whose state has seen successive bouts of severe weather, including storms that killed eight people in Houston earlier this month.
Abbot signed an amended severe weather disaster declaration on Sunday to include Denton, Montague, Cooke and Collin on a list of counties already under a disaster declaration sparked by storms and flooding in late April.
Hugo Parra, who lives in Farmers Branch, north of Dallas, said he rode out the storm with 40 to 50 people in the bathroom of the truck stop. The storm sheared the roof and walls off the building, mangling metal beams and leaving battered cars in the parking lot.
“A firefighter came to check on us and he said, ‘You’re very lucky,’” Parra said. “The best way to describe this is the wind tried to rip us out of the bathrooms.”
Multiple people were transported to hospitals by ambulance and helicopter in Denton County, also north of Dallas.
No more deaths are expected and nobody was reported missing in Texas, Abbott said, though responders were doing one more round of searches just in case.
Eight people died statewide in Arkansas, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed in a news conference Sunday evening. An emergency official said two of the deaths were attributed to the circumstances of the storm but not directly caused by weather, including a person who suffered a heart attack and another who was deprived of oxygen due to a loss of electricity.
The deaths included a 26-year-old woman who was found dead outside a destroyed home in Olvey, a small community in Boone County, according to Daniel Bolen of the county’s emergency management office. One person died in Benton County, and two more bodies were found in Marion County, officials said.
In Oklahoma, two people died in Mayes County, east of Tulsa, officials said.
In Kentucky, a man was killed Sunday in Louisville when a tree fell on him, police said. Louisville Mayor Craig Greenburg confirmed on social media it was a storm-related death.
A deadly series of storms
The destruction continued a grim month of deadly severe weather in the nation’s midsection.
Tornadoes in Iowa last week left at least five people dead and dozens injured. The deadly twisters have spawned during a historically bad season for tornadoes, at a time when climate change contributes to the severity of storms around the world. April had the second-highest number of tornadoes on record in the country.
Meteorologists and authorities issued urgent warnings to seek cover as the storms marched across the region late Saturday and into Sunday. “If you are in the path of this storm take cover now!” the National Weather Service office in Norman, Oklahoma, posted on X.
Harold Brooks, a senior scientist at the National Severe Storms Laboratory in Norman, said a persistent pattern of warm, moist air is to blame for the string of tornadoes over the past two months.
Homes destroyed, roads blocked
Residents awoke Sunday to overturned cars and collapsed garages. Some residents could be seen pacing and assessing the damage. Nearby, neighbors sat on the foundation of a wrecked home.
In Valley View, near the truck stop, the storms ripped the roofs off homes and blew out windows. Clothing, insulation, bits of plastic and other pieces of debris were wrapped around miles of barbed wire fence line surrounding grazing land in the rural area.
Kevin Dorantes, 20, was in nearby Carrollton when he learned the tornado was bearing down on the Valley View neighborhood where he lived with his father and brother. He called the two of them and told them to take cover in the windowless bathroom, where they rode out the storm and survived unharmed.
As Dorantes wandered through the neighborhood of downed power lines and devastated houses, he came upon a family whose home was reduced to a pile of splintered rubble. A father and son were trapped under debris and friends and neighbors raced to get them out, Dorantes said.
“They were conscious but severely injured,” Dorantes said.
Widespread power outages
The severe weather knocked out power for tens of thousands of homes and businesses in the path of the storms.
On Monday, more than 187,000 customers were without power in Kentucky, according to the tracking website poweroutage.us. Some 84,000 customers were without power in Alabama; 74,000, West Virginia; 70,000, Missouri; and 63,000, Arkansas.
Inaccessible roads and downed power lines in Oklahoma also led officials in the town of Claremore, near Tulsa, to announce on social media that the city was “shut down” due to the damage.
More severe weather forecast
The system causing the latest severe weather was expected to move east over the rest of the holiday weekend.
The Indianapolis 500 started four hours late after a strong storm pushed into the area, forcing Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials to evacuate about 125,000 race fans.
More severe storms were predicted in Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky and Tennessee.
The risk of severe weather moves into North Carolina and Virginia on Monday, forecasters said.
To follow the progress of the storm system, see The Associated Press Tornado Tracker.
Latest deadly weather in US kills at least 18 as storms carve path of ruin across multiple states
https://arab.news/r5mg4
Latest deadly weather in US kills at least 18 as storms carve path of ruin across multiple states
- The storms inflicted their worst damage in a region spanning from north of Dallas to the northwest corner of Arkansas
- In Texas, about 100 people were injured and more than 200 homes and structures destroyed
French train networks partially restored after line sabotage ahead of Olympics
- Despite the disruptions, SNCF railway company says all transportation for Olympic teams, accredited personnel will be maintained
- The sabotage incidents have raised concerns about security as Paris hosts the Olympics, with authorities actively investigating
PARIS: French railway company SNCF said Saturday it has made progress in partially restoring high-speed train services after acts of sabotage disrupted three major lines ahead of Friday night’s Olympic Games opening ceremony on the Seine River.
SNCF said its agents worked through the night in adverse weather conditions to improve the TGV traffic from the north, east and west to Paris. As of Saturday morning, normal service had resumed on the Eastern high-speed line.
“On the North, Brittany and South-West high-speed lines, seven out of 10 trains on average will run with delays of one to two hours,” SNCF said.
The company added that traffic will continue to be disrupted on the North axis on Sunday, but conditions are expected to improve on the Atlantic axis for weekend returns. Customers are being contacted via text message and email to confirm the running of their trains.
Despite the disruptions, SNCF said all transportation for Olympic teams and accredited personnel will be maintained as planned.
The sabotage incidents have raised concerns about security as Paris hosts the Olympics. French authorities are actively investigating but say that no suspects have been identified or apprehended so far.
IOC apologizes for South Korea gaffe in Olympics opening ceremony
- The error sparked displeased reactions in South Korea
Seoul: The International Olympic Committee apologized Saturday for a gaffe during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics in which South Korean athletes were incorrectly introduced as North Korean.
As the South Korean delegation sailed down the Seine river in the French capital, they were introduced with the official name for North Korea: “Republique populaire democratique de Coree” in French, then “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea” in English.
“We deeply apologize for the mistake that occurred when introducing the South Korean team during the broadcast of the opening ceremony,” the IOC said in a post on its official Korean-language X account.
The error sparked displeased reactions in South Korea, a global cultural and technological powerhouse that is technically still at war with the nuclear-armed and impoverished North.
The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee said later Saturday that it had received a message from the IOC indicating that its chief, Thomas Bach, wished to directly apologize to the president of South Korea over the phone.
Earlier, South Korea’s sports ministry said in a statement it “expresses regret” over the “announcement during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics, where the South Korean delegation was introduced as the North Korean team.”
Second vice sports minister Jang Mi-ran, a 2008 Olympic weightlifting champion, has asked for a meeting with IOC chief Bach to discuss the matter, it added.
The country’s foreign ministry said in a statement it had contacted the French embassy in Seoul which expressed regret over what it said was an “incomprehensible mistake.”
North Korea was correctly introduced with the country’s official name.
Relations between the two Koreas are at one of their lowest points in years, with the North bolstering military ties with Russia while sending thousands of trash-carrying balloons to the South.
In response, Seoul’s military blasts K-pop and anti-regime messages from border loudspeakers and recently resumed live-fire drills on border islands and near the demilitarised zone that divides the Korean peninsula.
Seven out of 10 French high speed trains to run Saturday after sabotage
PARIS: Seven out of 10 French high speed trains will run Saturday on three key routes, a day after saboteurs paralyzed much of the train network as the Olympic Games started in Paris.
No immediate claim of responsibility was made for the coordinated overnight arson attacks on cabling boxes at junctions strategically picked out north, southwest and east of the French capital where the Olympics opening ceremony was staged on Friday night.
Rail workers thwarted an attempt to destroy safety equipment on a fourth line in what the SNCF rail company called a “massive attack.”
“On the North, Brittany and South-West high-speed lines, seven out of 10 trains on average will run with delays of one to two hours,” SNCF said in a statement.
It said SNCF “agents worked all night under difficult conditions in the rain to allow to improve traffic on high-speed lines affected by the acts of sabotage.
“At this stage, traffic will remain disrupted on Sunday on the North axis and should improve on the Atlantic axis for weekend returns,” it said.
“Customers will be contacted by text message and email to confirm the running of their trains.”
SNCF estimated that about 250,000 passengers were affected on Friday. Junior transport minister Patrice Vergriete said 800,000 could face the fallout over the three days.
The coordinated attacks were staged at 4:00 am (0200 GMT) early Friday.
ASEAN urges Myanmar to start peace process, alarmed over Gaza casualties
- Top diplomats from Southeast Asia are gathered in the Laotian capital with partners that include the United States, China, Russia, Japan, India and Australia
VIENTIANE: Foreign ministers of the Southeast Asian regional bloc ASEAN on Saturday condemned violence against civilians in military-ruled Myanmar and urged all parties to end hostilities and follow an agreed peace plan.
In a joint communique issued two days after their closed-doors retreat in Laos, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations also welcomed unspecified practical measures to reduce tension in the South China Sea and prevent accidents and miscalculations.
It described North Korea's missile tests as worrisome developments and urged peaceful resolutions to the conflicts in Ukraine, as well as Gaza, expressing concern over the dire humanitarian situation and "alarming casualties" there.
Meetings on Saturday in Vientiane are bringing together in the same room allies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations — including the United States, China, Russia, Japan, India and Australia — to bolster their relationships and discuss key security issues and other regional affairs.
In a meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday, Indonesia Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said the bloc’s good partnership with Washington should also contribute to global peace. She said they should be respecting international laws “in a consistent manner,” whether about Ukraine, the South China Sea or the crisis in Gaza.
Blinken said he hopes to work closely with the ASEAN nations on those matters, as well as violence in Myanmar and provocations by North Korea.
The Secretary of State is expected to meet on the sidelines with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, as both countries are looking to expand their influence in the region.
Participants in these meetings represent either critical US allies and partners, or Washington’s two largest rivals, Moscow and Beijing, which have grown closer over the past two years, prompting deep concerns about their combined global influence. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was also in Vientiane, and already held direct talks with Wang on Thursday.
Indonesia said it emphasized in their opening meetings Thursday that it’s important the bloc doesn’t get drawn into any rivalry between China and the US
ASEAN members Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei all have conflicts with China over its claim of sovereignty over virtually all of the South China Sea, one of the world’s most crucial waterways for shipping. Many worry that direct confrontations there could lead to broader conflict. Indonesia has also expressed concern about what it sees as Beijing’s encroachment on its exclusive economic zone.
There are divisions within ASEAN on how to deal with China’s maritime claims. The Philippines has been critical over a perceived lack of support from the bloc, but in a rare deal, China and the Philippines said they had reached an agreement that they hope will end their confrontations, aiming to establish a mutually acceptable arrangement for the disputed area without conceding each other’s territorial claims.
Philippines Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo said after the gala dinner on Friday that he had a bilateral meeting with China’s Wang, where they agreed that they would “honor the provisional agreement in a clear and sincere effort to defuse tensions and try and prevent any incidents of course from leading to further tension in our relationship.”
On Saturday, the Philippines said it was able make a supply trip to the disputed area without having to confront Beijing’s forces, the first such trip since the deal was reached a week ago. Blinken applauded it as a success in his opening remarks at the meeting with ASEAN foreign ministers, while calling China’s past actions against the Philippines — a US treaty partner — “escalatory and unlawful.”
Prior to the deal, tensions between the Philippines and China escalated for months, with China’s coast guard and other forces using powerful water cannons and dangerous blocking maneuvers to prevent food and other supplies from reaching Filipino navy personnel.
The United States and its allies have regularly conducted military exercises and patrols in the area to assert their “free and open Indo-Pacific” policy — including the right to navigate in international waters — which has drawn criticism from China.
Wang said in his meeting with Manalo that the deployment of a US intermediate-range missile system in the Philippines would create regional tension and trigger an arms race, according to a statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
The increasingly violent civil war in ASEAN member state Myanmar is one of the other issues dominating talks. Thailand has said the group gave their support for it to take a broader role as one of Myanmar’s immediate neighbors.
Nikorndej Balankura, spokesperson of Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told reporters Friday that more dialogue mechanisms have been proposed to include more stakeholders, especially countries that share borders with Myanmar. He however noted that those proposals have just been submitted to Laos, which currently chairs ASEAN and is in charge of recommending them directly to Myanmar to seek its approval.
The army in Myanmar ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021 and suppressed widespread nonviolent protests that sought a return to democratic rule, leading to increasing violence and a humanitarian crisis.
ASEAN has been pushing a “five-point consensus” for peace, but the military leadership in Myanmar has so far ignored the plan, raising questions about the bloc’s efficiency and credibility. The peace plan calls for the immediate cessation of violence in Myanmar, a dialogue among all concerned parties, mediation by an ASEAN special envoy, provision of humanitarian aid through ASEAN channels, and a visit to Myanmar by the special envoy to meet all concerned parties.
Blinken hits out at China’s ‘unlawful actions’ in South China Sea
- Blinken is in capital Vientiane for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers meeting
- He has prioritized promoting a “free and open” Asia-Pacific region
VIENTIANE: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken hit out at China’s “escalatory and unlawful actions” in the South China Sea on Saturday, hours before he was due to hold talks with Beijing’s top diplomat at a regional meeting in Laos.
Blinken is in capital Vientiane for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers meeting, part of an Asian tour aimed at reinforcing regional ties in the face of an increasingly assertive Beijing.
He has prioritized promoting a “free and open” Asia-Pacific region — a thinly veiled criticism of China’s regional economic, strategic and territorial ambitions.
The United States and ASEAN had to work together to “address challenges,” Blinken told ministers from the 10-member bloc, including China’s “escalatory and unlawful actions taken against the Philippines in the South China Sea over the last few months.”
Manila is locked in a longstanding territorial row with Beijing over parts of the strategic waterway through which trillions of dollars worth of trade passes annually.
On Saturday Manila said it had successfully resupplied troops on the Second Thomas Shoal — the focus of violent clashes between Chinese and Philippines vessels in recent months.
The mission was carried out under a deal agreed with Beijing last week.
“We are pleased to take note of the successful resupply today,” Blinken said.
“We applaud that and hope and expect to see that it continues going forward.”
Blinken is due to meet China’s Wang Yi later Saturday.
The two will “exchange views on issues of common concern,” China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Friday.
Washington-Beijing competition
This is Blinken’s 18th visit to Asia since taking office more than three years ago, reflecting the fierce competition between Washington and Beijing in the region.
He notably arrives two days after the foreign ministers of China and Russia met with the 10-nation ASEAN bloc — and each other on the sidelines of the summit.
Wang and Sergei Lavrov had discussed “building a new security architecture for Eurasia,” according to Moscow’s foreign ministry.
The pair also agreed to jointly “counter any attempts by extra-regional forces to interfere in Southeast Asian affairs,” it said.
China has a strong political and economic partnership with Russia, with NATO members labelling Beijing as a “key facilitator” of Moscow’s involvement in the war in Ukraine.
Ongoing tensions
The temperature between Manila and Beijing remains high, despite the deal last week on resupplying Filipino troops stationed on a disputed reef.
“We hope China implements the agreement,” Philippine foreign secretary Enrique Manalo told reporters in Vientiane late on Friday.
“I think that would be an important step forward in diffusing tensions and hopefully lead to other areas of cooperation on the South China Sea.”
Beijing claims the waterway — through which trillions of dollars of trade passes annually — almost in its entirety despite an international court ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.
A Filipino sailor lost a thumb in the latest June 17 confrontation when Chinese coast guard members wielding knives, sticks and an axe foiled a Philippine Navy attempt to resupply its troops.
China lashed out earlier this year after Blinken said that Washington was ready to defend the Philippines if its forces, ships or aircraft came under attack in the South China Sea.
Beijing has insisted that the United States has “no right” to interfere in the South China Sea.
The two countries also remain at loggerheads over trade, human rights and the status of the self-ruled island of Taiwan, which China claims sovereignty over.
Blinken is scheduled to travel to Hanoi later Saturday to extend US condolences to Vietnamese officials after the passing of communist leader Nguyen Phu Trong.
ASEAN ministers are expected to issue a joint communique at the end of their three-day meeting.
One diplomatic source said the statement is being held up by lack of consensus over the wording of paragraphs on the Myanmar conflict and disputes in the South China Sea.
Myanmar’s junta has been banned from high-level ASEAN summits over its 2021 coup and crackdown on dissent but has sent two bureaucrats to represent it at the Laos talks.
