Austin American-Statesman from Austin, Texas • A6

Page 6 CM A6 AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN I MONDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2015 CONTINUING COVERAGE: SEVERE WEATHER Gov. Greg Abbott visits some of the workers at the DPS State Operations Center on Sunday. He made disaster declarations in Dallas, Collin, Rockwall and Ellis counties after Saturday's storms, jay janner American-statesman Nery Ceron walks Sunday through debris scattered around a Garland neighborhood hit by a tornado the previous evening. In Garland alone, eight people died, 15 were injured and about 600 structures, mostly single-family homes, were damaged, cooper neill new yorktimes restored power, and people walked around, hushed and dazed. Three people died in Collin County, about 45 miles northeast of Dallas, according to sheriff's Deputy Chris Havey, although the circumstances were not immediately clear.

The Texas Department of Public Safety in Ama-rillo strongly discouraged travel throughout the entire Panhandle -a 26-county area covering nearly 26,000 square miles because blowing and drifting snow had made the roads impassable. Interstate 40 west of Amarillo to the New Mexico border was to be closed until Monday morning. Meanwhile, Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin declared a state of emergency as there were blizzard conditions and an ice storm warning out west and flood warnings in the east, where one community had received 9 inches of rain. Farther north, rain caused dangerous driving conditions and flooding in Missouri and Illinois.

Six people died overnight when two vehicles drove on flooded roads in south-central Missouri, Pulaski County Sheriff Ronald Long said, and KYTV reported that authorities recovered the body of a driver Saturday from a creek in the southwest part of the state. Also Saturday, three adults and two children drowned in southern Illinois when their vehicle was swept away and sank in a rain-swollen creek. The death toll in the Southeast linked to severe weather rose to 19 on Sunday when Alabama authorities found the body of a 22-year-old man whose vehicle was swept away while attempting to cross a bridge; a 5-year-old's body was recovered from that incident Saturday. Ten people have died in Mississippi, and six have died in Tennessee. Cheryl Turek (right) hugs Evelyn Lindstrom on Sunday in front of Lindstrom's destroyed home in Copeville.

Vehicles were mangled, power lines fell and trees were toppled along a nearly 40-mile strip near Dallas. Heavy rain, wind and falling temperatures hampered cleanup efforts Sunday afternoon, rachelwoolfdallas morning news Storms continued from Al pie died, 15 were injured and about 600 structures, mostly single-family homes, were damaged. The National Weather Service said an EF-4 tornado the second-most powerful, with winds up to more than 200 mph -hit the community about 6:45 p.m. Saturday. It was near the intersection of Interstate 30 and the George Bush Turnpike.

At least three people who died were found in vehicles, said Barineau. He noted that some cars appeared to have been thrown from 1-30, though it wasn't known whether that was how the people found in the vehicles died. Gov. Greg Abbott made disaster declarations Sunday for four counties -Dallas, Collin, Rockwall and Ellis and warned that the number of victims could rise. Natalie Guzman, 33, took photos of her family's home in a neighborhood of Garland.

The garage wall had collapsed and the roof had fallen in. The only part of the house that appeared to be spared was the master bathroom, where her brother-in-law took shelter Saturday night. He was the only one at home and told her he had just enough time to get himself and his dogs into the bathroom. "It was worse than I AVIATION SAFETY Clean Out Gutters? The weather service said damage indicated it was probably an EF-3 tornado, which has winds up to 165 mph. Dale Vermurlen lived in a Rowlett neighborhood that sustained heavy damage.

His house had only minor damage but was next to some that were flattened. "I grabbed both dogs by the collars and held on to the toilet. I said, 'OK, this could be it, Homes in the neighborhood that had been searched by emergency responders were marked with a black It looked as if some homes had been picked up and set back down in a big pile. State troopers blocked off roads, utility crews Dangerous helicopter-bird strikes increase, FAA reports thought," Guzman said, comparing the scene to the photos he had sent Saturday. The destruction in Garland was so overwhelming that Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins declared the city a disaster area within minutes of seeing the toll firsthand.

"I don't declare local disasters lightly," Jenkins said. "But I looked at the scene for 10 minutes, spoke to the incident commander and then called the lawyers to bring the paperwork." In nearby Rowlett, City Manager Brian Funder-burk said Sunday morning that 23 people were injured but that there were no deaths and no reports of missing people. the early 2000s, said Gary Roach, an FAA helicopter safety engineer. The increase is due partly to greater awareness among pilots about the importance of reporting bird strikes since the January 2009, when US Airways Flight 1549 was ditched in New York's Hudson River after the airliner's two engines sucked in geese. But another reason is that populations of large bird species are generally on the rise in North America, creating the potential for more dangerous strikes.

The Canada goose population in the U.S. and Canada increased from about 500,000 in 1980 to 3.8 million in 2013, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. During the same time period, the North American snow goose population increased from about 2.1 million to 6.6 million. Other large-bird species with rising populations include bald eagles, wild turkeys, vultures, American white pelicans, double-crested cormorants, Sandhill cranes, great blue herons and ospreys.

Despite the increase in big birds and overall bird strikes, the number of incidents in which airliners and other fixed-wing planes suffered seri 3DAYBLINDS8 YOU'LL LOVE CUSTOM BLINDS, SHADES, THE TREATMENT SHUTTERS AND DRAPES Time Is Running Out! To Elevate Your Home's Decor For The Holidays SAVE 20 ous damage from a bird strike has been dropping, in part because of efforts to keep airports and their surroundings free of large birds. The reverse is true of helicopters, which fly at lower altitudes around lots of birds. "We're getting more severe damage, more frequent cases of birds penetrating the windshield and the risk of pilot incapacitation that could cause fatalities for everybody there," Roach told a recent meeting of FAA's aviation rulemaking advisory committee. He cited the example of a helicopter pilot in the Gulf Coast region who was flying at about 1,000 feet and 115 mph when two ducks slammed through the windshield and hit him in the face. The pilot had so much bird gore on his face, he couldn't immediately breathe or see.

Some of his teeth were knocked out, his jaw wouldn't close for a month and he needed stitches. But he still managed to land the helicopter without injuring any of the other five people on board. The report on the incident read: "Bird strike. Landing uneventful," Roach said. "But that really didn't represent what was going on in the By Joan Lowy Associated Press WASHINGTON The crew of a Dallas police helicopter was searching for a capsized boat last March when there was a loud explosion and wind rushed through a huge hole in the windshield.

The pilot, Sgt. Todd Limerick, put a hand over one eye, his face covered in blood and Plexiglass shards. He kept his other hand on the controls until the co-pilot, Cpl. Laurent Lespagnol, took over and landed the aircraft. "My first thought was that we had been shot.

My second was the engine blew up," Lespagnol said in an interview. It wasn't until they had landed that they found the cause wedged between the cockpit seats a 3-pound American coot, a ducklike bird. Reports of helicopter bird strikes are up dramatically in recent years, including incidents, like the one in Dallas, that damage the aircraft and create the potential for crashes, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. In 2013, there were 204 reported helicopter bird strikes, a 68 percent increase from 2009 when there were 121 reports and an increase of over 700 percent since ON CUSTOM WINDOW TREATMENTS PERSONALIZED EXPERIENCE FAST SERVICE TRUSTED BRAND Call To Schedule 512-212-3731 CUSTOMER SATISFACTION 97 houzz AS SEEN ON TV I 0 Si CTi.1 1 This offer must be presented at the time of purchase. Offer valid on 3 Day Blinds brand products only.

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