Cleanup starts after tornadoes tear through Dallas-Fort Worth area

Lancaster, Texas (CNN) -- Cleanup efforts began in Texas on Tuesday after tornadoes ripped through the Dallas-Fort Worth area, tossing tractor-trailers like toys, forcing airlines to cancel flights and causing widespread damage.

In Lancaster, Texas, south of Dallas, roofs were stripped to bare plywood and houses were speared by flying two-by-fours. About 300 buildings were damaged, according to the city's mayor. A citywide curfew was put in place, and a shelter was opened.

"It was like 'The Wizard of Oz,' " said Gwen Dabbs, who wasn't able to make it to an interior room before the storm blew her windows out. She huddled in a corner of her living room covered with blankets as the tornado passed.

"My body is sore from being in the corner. But I don't have not a cut, not a scratch, and I'm so thankful. Thank you, Lord," she said.

CNN affiliate WFAA broadcast striking video of area damage, showing tractor-trailers being lifted and flipped like matchsticks. Ominous clouds filled the skies, making it as dark as night.

"The pictures that you're seeing and that I'm seeing are just horrific. We've got reports of a number of injuries, but no reports of fatalities at the present time," said Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst.

As many as 13 tornadoes might have touched down in north Texas on Tuesday, said Jesse Moore, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Dallas-Fort Worth.

"Somewhere between six and 13. I know that sounds like a big range, but until we actually go out and do the survey, the number is just approximate," he said. Teams are preparing to asses the damage on Wednesday.

National Weather Service tests graphic warnings

The severe weather affected flights and aircraft at area airports.

More than 110 aircraft at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport sustained various degrees of hail damage, the airport said. It reported airlines canceled 400 departures, and more than three dozen incoming flights were diverted to other airports because of the storm.

Southwest Airlines, meanwhile, canceled more than 40 flights at Dallas Love Field, while American Airlines canceled all flights through Tuesday evening at Dallas-Fort Worth, one of the world's busiest airports.

The announcement, made via Twitter, was likely to affect American flights in other parts of the country. In all, American and its American Eagle partner airline canceled 234 outbound flights, according to a statement from American.

By Tuesday evening, more than 47,000 homes and businesses in north Texas were without power, said a spokeswoman for Oncor Electric Delivery.

Jonathan Cook said he was in a bank in south Fort Worth when the storm rolled in and he decided to leave. He went to a nearby gas station, where he ran into a friend whose window had been blown out and a National Weather Service worker with a radio who told them tornadoes were touching down nearby.

"A girl said 'Look up.' And there were two funnel clouds that touched down about an eighth of a mile up from us, and debris was flying and we were trying to decide where to go.

- CNN