Texas tornadoes leave many dead

and at least 100 have been injured after storms and tornadoes hit towns across north Texas.

Most of the fatalities were believed to be in the picturesque lakeside town Granbury, 40 miles southwest of Fort Worth, which was hit by a possible tornado.

Hood County sheriff's Lt. Kathy Jiveden said there were multiple fatalities, but she had no estimate of dead or the number of homes destroyed.

^{hospital after a tornado tore through parts of north Texas}

Officers "are going house to house" looking for residents trapped, injured or dead in the rubble of demolished homes near Lake Granbury, she said.

There were reports of homes being flattened with people still inside. Hardest hit were two neighborhoods, Rancho Brazos Estates and DeCordova Ranch, in the southern end of the town of about 8,000 residents. Evacuations were underway in the town.

The emergency came as large swaths of the state were under a tornado watch.
KDFW-TV said a line of storms was moving across north Texas and spawning tornadoes that were damaging homes. The bad weather was brining heavy rain and hail "the size of grapefruits".
^{Johnny Ortiz and James South carry Miguel Morales to an ambulance in Granbury, Texas after being injured after a tornado hit the town (AP)}
The National Weather Service warned that a mile-wide tornado was moving "right at the city of Cleburne," a community of about 15,000 people in north Texas.
"If you are in its path ... take cover immediately to protect your life," the weather service alert said.
The town's mayor said dozens of homes were destroyed or damaged by the bad weather.
The Morning News newspaper said 37 flights had been diverted from Dallas/Fort Worth airport.
Another tornado hit the small town of Millsap, about 40 miles west of Fort Worth.
An average of 132 tornadoes hit Texas each year.