Dallas Mayor: It's a Miracle

Eighteen-wheelers were sent spinning though the air, hundreds of homes were smashed and cars crunched when as many as 13 tornadoes hit the Dallas region—but "miraculously" not a single person lost their lives, said a stunned mayor. "It looks like the Dallas-Fort Worth area really dodged a bullet," Mayor Michael Rawlings told CNN. "We've got hundreds and hundreds of homes destroyed, but amazingly no fatalities. We're looking at a miracle here. We're looking at something amazing." Added Dallas City Manager Mary Suhm: "Thank God for the protection he provided."

Three people were injured in nearby Arlington, though not seriously. "We've done the primary search," said Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck. "We feel as though we have everybody now." Observers credit the spared lives to effective warnings from the National Weather Service, and the fact that most people were at work or in school instead of in their homes, which were the hardest hit, reports the Dallas Morning News. The clean up has already begun but it will likely take months. Gov. Rick Perry is scheduled to tour the damage by helicopter today and will hold a news conference to discuss state and federal aid that will be available to stricken communities. (More Dallas stories.)