Deadly tornado strikes Texas

The tornado that recently struck Texas has left at least seven individuals dead.

Fox Weather reports that the tornado is being described as "the deadliest tornado in state history since 2015."

Texas, over the years, has been the location of multiple extremely deadly tornados.

UPI News reports, for example, "In 1997, an F5 tornado half a mile wide ripped through the small Texas town of Jarrell, killing 27 people, including a family of five."

The latest

The particular tornado that hit Texas is one of more than 20 that have struck southern states in recent days. The destructive weather phenomena have touched down in states ranging from Texas to Missouri.

The tornado referred to above, according to Fox, "struck along the Denton-Cooke county line on Interstate 35" in Texas. This took place on Saturday night.

The National Weather Service only gave the tornado a preliminary rating of EF-2, which means that it had 3-second wind gusts of between 111 and 135 miles per hour. This, however, was enough to do some serious damage and to claim several lives - including the lives of multiple children.

Initial reports have indicated that the tornado claimed the lives of at least seven people while injuring more than 100 others. Among the dead were two children, a 2-year-old and a 5-year-old from the same family.

Fox reports, "Many of the injuries were reported at an AP Travel Stop and Shell station, where dozens of people attempted to seek shelter from the twister." ABC News reports, "Most of those fatalities occurred at the nearby FRF Estates in Valley View, a community of manufactured homes about 60 miles northwest of Dallas, according to Sappington."

"There's only one thing that cannot be rebuilt . . ."

ABC News provides more details about the widespread damage caused by the tornado.

The outlet reports:

More than 200 homes or structures were destroyed and another 120 were damaged, Texas officials said. Video shows Cooke County residents hiding in a Shell gas station as a tornado hit the area Saturday night, according to Dallas-Fort Worth ABC affiliate WFAA. The tornado begins to tear apart the building with residents scrambling for safety.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has released a statement on the situation, mourning the loss of life.

"There's only one thing that cannot be rebuilt, and that's a loss of life -- That's why we always stress to everybody, whatever you do in any type of storm, put life first," Abbott said.

Emergency crews continue to look for survivors.