Texas Tornado Videos Show Mass Destruction After 'Monster' Storm

Three people are reported to have been killed when a powerful tornado tore through the small north Texas town of Matador on Wednesday, causing widespread devastation.

Photos and video shared on social media show overturned vehicles, debris scattered across roads and multiple damaged or destroyed buildings.

Power remains out across the town, with Matador Mayor Pat Smith reporting "a whole lot of damage," and warning there could be more dead or injured who are yet to be discovered.

The storm hit Matador, a town of around 600 people, at about 8 p.m., according to National Weather Service lead meteorologist Matt Ziebell, who is based in nearby Lubbock.

Speaking to NBC News, he commented: "There was definitely a tornado. Definitely buildings and some vehicles were pretty severely damaged."

Matador Mayor Smith told The New York Times at least three people were dead, with electricity out across the town. He said rescue workers had pulled people from the rubble of destroyed buildings, adding: "It's really, really bad."

On Twitter, the fire department in Lubbock, situated around 70 miles southwest of Matador, said it had sent a heavy rescue team to support relief efforts, adding: "Our hearts and prayers are with the communities affected by this disaster."

Michael Beard, a Fort Worth based photojournalist who shared several photos and a video from the scene, reported rescue workers were picking their way through the rubble of a collapsed store shortly after midnight, after "getting 911 calls from somebody saying they are still inside."

Video posted by Beard shows emergency responders picking over a number of structures in Matador, which had been reduced to scrap.

Accompanying images depict a number of buildings with their roofs blown off, and one which also appears to have lost most of one exterior wall.

Meteorologist Corbin Voges, from Amarillo, shared footage of destroyed buildings and debris strewn roads from local network ABC 7 Amarillo. He added: "Significant tornado damage in Matador, Texas this evening. Chasers are telling us that Matador needs rescue operations ASAP."

Andrew Justin, a meteorologist from Oklahoma, posted photos showing a large truck that had been badly damaged and turned on its side, alongside torn up plants and partially downed poles.

Another Twitter user, who describes himself as a "weather enthusiast" from southeast Michigan, shared a weather radar map showing Matador being hit by the storm, adding: "Monster Tornado just tore through Matador TX."

Three people were killed on June 15 when a separate tornado barreled through Perryton, in northern Texas, with state Governor Greg Abbott deploying the Texas Division of Emergency Management to coordinate the rescue operation.

Northern Ohio was hit by a series of nine tornados over the same day, though there were no reports of any injuries.

In June, two people died in another Texas tornado which hit Laguna Heights, a neighborhood on the Gulf Coast near the city of Port Isabel.