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Tornado Toll: Two People Still in Critical After Deadly Texas Storms

A twister carrying winds of 140 mph swept through nearly 10 miles of Van Zandt County on Sunday night
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The last of those unaccounted for in the aftermath of a deadly tornado that ripped through a north Texas county have been found safe, officials said Tuesday.

Two people were still in critical condition from injuries sustained when a twister carrying winds of 140 mph swept through nearly 10 miles of Van Zandt County on Sunday night, said Chuck Allen, the county's fire marshal and emergency management coordinator.

Two people, identified as retired Garland Police Lt. David Tapley and his wife, Brenda, were killed in the EF-3 tornado.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday night declared a state of disaster in seven counties that experienced days of tumultuous weather.

"We’re looking at several millions of dollars in damages," Allen said.

Two of five schools in the town of Van were heavily damaged, and all the district's schools were closed for a second day Tuesday, according to Van Independent School District.

Mayor Dean Stone lauded cleanup volunteers. "I’ve been around quite a while in Texas, and we have had a great recovery from this," he said. "We were in much better shape than I dreamt we’d be at this time today."

The new concern becomes incoming weather as another round of severe storms is expected for the Plains later in the week, according to Weather.com, which called the next round an "almost carbon-copy" of the deadly storms that swept through the region over the weekend.

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— Elisha Fieldstadt