Texas and Oklahoma on Fire

Wildfires and tornadoes fueled by strong winds cause widespread destruction in the southern US.

A fraternal lodge in Mena, Ark., was in ruins yesterday after a tornado struck the town late Thursday. Storms also hit Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Alabama. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston via Boston Globe). Image may be subject to copyright.

A summary of events:

• About a dozen people have been killed in Texas, Tennessee and Arkansas, with about 200 hundred others injured, a half of them seriously.
• Several thousand people have been evacuated across the three states.

• The storms destroyed or damaged nearly 200 homes and businesses in Arkansas, spanning over 12 counties.

• Wildfires destroyed more than 180 homes in Oklahoma, injuring about 70 people and prompting the Oklahoma governor Brad Henry to declare a state of emergency in 32 counties.
• A storm system moving across the area has caused power cuts, damage and widespread destruction throughout the southern and mid-western US.
• Wildfires have scorched up to 100,ooo hectares of land. [About 95 percent of Texas is currently in some stage of drought. ]
• On Thursday, wind speed reached a category 1 hurricane with peak speeds of about 120km/hr (74mph).
• Texas wildfire burned down dozens of homes prompting  evacuation of several towns.

• One of the fires in Oklahoma may have been started deliberately, officials said.

Flames illuminate a storage tank as a grass fire moves through Choctaw, Okla., Thursday, April 9, 2009. Fire crews in Oklahoma and Texas raced Thursday to control wind-whipped wildfires that destroyed dozens of homes, forced evacuations and shut down parts of a major highway. Photo: Sue Ogrocki /AP. Image may be subject to copyright.

These scenes are forecast to reoccur across the country throughout 2009.