11 People Killed as Deadly Tornadoes Hit the Dallas, TX Suburbs (VIDEO)

SAY A PRAYER FOR THOSE IN THE DALLAS, TEXAS AREA THAT WERE HIT WITH DEADLY TORNADOES LAST NIGHT …

Last night, tornadoes swept through the Dallas area leaving substantial damage and at least eleven people dead either from the storm or related traffic accidents.  The National Weather Service in Fort Worth said several tornadoes touched down in the Dallas area, although the full extent of damage would not be known until daylight Sunday.

The storm blew the roofs off homes and left vehicles mangled or turned upside down, churches damaged, power lines down, natural gas lines burst, trees toppled and debris strewn across neighborhoods. The damage stretched over about a 40-mile-long area from 20 miles south of Dallas to northeast of the city.

Joe Harn, police spokesman for Garland, about 20 miles northeast of Dallas, said five people were killed in vehicle accidents during the massive storm, but it’s unclear if all five were in the same vehicle or how they died.

Tornado in Sunnyvale, Garland, and Rowlett, Texas

CNN: Tornadoes, storms hit Dallas suburbs; 11 people killed.

Severe storms and tornadoes tore through north Texas, killing at least 11 people in the latest incident of deadly weather in the nation.

The storms hit Dallas suburbs Saturday evening, with Garland suffering the most casualties, authorities said.

Lt. Pedro Barineau with the Garland Police Department confirmed Sunday morning that eight people died in the storm that ripped through Garland.

Barineau said 15 people were hurt and 600 structures were damaged.

Three additional deaths were reported in Collin County, said Lt. Chris Havey, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office. Havey said officials don’t expect the death toll to rise, but they are sifting through debris and making sure no victims were overlooked.

In some neighborhoods in Garland, the storms ripped facades off houses, leaving gaping holes. Cars that had been in driveways ended up inside homes after the tornado barreled through, witnesses said.

Officials said earlier that five of the deaths were related to vehicles hit by a tornado in southeast Garland.

Garland resident Pat McMillian said the tornado left neighborhoods in darkness.

UPDATE I: Death Toll Rises in Dallas as Storms Sweep South.

At least 11 people were killed in the Dallas area Saturday night when 11 tornadoes swept North Texas, officials said.

The storm tossed cars off freeways and destroyed at least one apartment building, a recreation vehicle park and several homes across the suburbs northeast of the city, according to officials with the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department and the Garland Police Department. About 50,000 people were without power, officials said.

“There’s been quite an impact in damage and potentially injuries and death,” said Rich Thompson, lead forecaster with the National Weather Service’s storm prediction center in Norman, Okla.

Jason Whitely ?@JasonWhitely

In Rowlett, which borders Garland, at least three houses had collapsed, and the people who lived in them had not been found, said Detective Cruz Hernandez of the Rowlett Police Department.

Detective Hernandez said that the damage in Rowlett was extensive and that the police were seeking to rescue anyone trapped in their homes, although the effort was being hampered by continuing bad weather.

“We can’t get a good sense of it because it’s dark and it’s starting to rain right now,” he said.

On Sunday, Brian Funderburk, the city manager of Rowlett, said 23 people were injured when the city was directly hit by a large tornado. The city enacted a 24-hour curfew in areas affected by the storm to keep roads clear for residents and emergency operations.