Six seconds of tornado carnage in border town

The Trinity River overflows beyond Dallas, Texas. Photo / AP

Days of flash flooding, tornadoes and rain across central Texas and Oklahoma swept away hundreds of homes and left at least five people dead and a dozen others missing.

In Mexico, a tornado that tore through the border city of Ciudad Acuna cut a swathe through seven blocks and killed at least 13 people, including three infants. More than 200 people were rushed to hospitals.

National civil protection coordinator Luis Felipe Puente told Foro TV that "more than 1000 homes" had been affected. The tornado swept in at "impressive speed" of 270-300km/h and lasted only six seconds, Puente said.

The Mexican tornado tossed cars and big trucks into the air before they smashed into houses and buildings. Images from the aftermath showed several crumpled vehicles resting against walls and roofs.

Rescuers in helicopters and pontoon boats rushed to save stranded residents across the southern US Plains states over the Memorial Day weekend, as severe storms led fast-rising waters to overflow rivers and roads during flooding that the National Weather Service called "catastrophic".

More than 1000 people were evacuated and at least five were killed during hours of vicious winds and drenching storms, including a 14-year-old Texan whose body was found in a deluged storm drain. A longtime Oklahoma firefighter was swept away and killed in Claremore while helping to save trapped families gathered for a birthday party. A high school student in Devine, Texas, died amid violently surging floodwaters while driving.

An unidentified man's body was recovered in San Marcos, Texas, along a flooded bank of the Blanco River. A 33-year-old Tulsa woman was also killed after the car she was driving was rammed by a hydroplaning truck.

Twelve people, including three children, were said to be missing after two families took shelter at a house that was destroyed in the small town of Wimberley, Texas, where officials said more than 350 homes had been washed away. The town, on the bank of the Blanco River between Austin and San Antonio, was one of the hardest hit in the weekend floods. The river swelled more than 9m within three hours on Monday.

Torrential rainfall hurt search efforts, washing away police cars and flooding a fire station in San Marcos. The Oklahoma City Fire Department said it had rescued more than 70 people.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott added 24 counties to the 13 that were declared to be in states of disaster this month.

Tornadoes and heavy winds on Sunday battered buildings in Texas and along the Mexican border. Emergency officials in Texas estimated the area had suffered millions of dollars in damage. Dallas faced severe floods from the Trinity River, which joined the Red and Wichita rivers in rising above its normal level.

- Bloomberg, AFP