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9 Dallas-area tornadoes cause $2 billion in insured losses

Posted at 7:25 AM, Oct 24, 2019
and last updated 2019-10-24 07:25:16-04

An insurance industry group says the nine tornadoes that struck the Dallas area during a Sunday night outbreak caused an estimated $2 billion in insured losses.

The Insurance Council of Texas said the estimate, which it called “pretty conservative,” makes the tornado outbreak the costliest in state history. It exceeds the $1.2 billion in insured losses caused by a Dec. 26, 2015, tornado that killed 10 people in eastern Dallas suburbs.

The National Weather Service says the strongest tornado Sunday hit the heavily populated north Dallas area, where the EF3 twister had peak winds of 140 mph (225 kph) and was on the ground for more than 15 miles (25 kilometers).

The other Texas tornadoes had wind speeds ranging from 80 mph to 135 mph (130 kph to 218 kph).

Four people died late Sunday and early Monday in storms in Arkansas and Oklahoma.