STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Life is not back to normal for everybody in the town of Lancaster, Texas. A state of emergency has been declared there, and the city of Arlington, as well, following yesterday's storms in the Dallas area.
RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:
This morning, we spoke with the mayor of Lancaster, Marcus Knight. Officials have identified some 300 buildings damaged in the southern suburb, including the entire wing of a nursing home. Residents are not being allowed into effected areas. They continue to survey the damage and be thankful that no one died in the powerful storms.
INSKEEP: Now, the last time that a serious tornado ripped through the community was 1994, but Mayor Knight says this time, it's worse.
MAYOR MARCUS KNIGHT: It's just really indescribable to see it up close and personal, as I've done over the, you know, the past 18 hours, or whatever it's been. It's pretty devastating in some areas.
MONTAGNE: The total cost of damage in the Dallas-Fort Worth area may exceed the $100 million price tag from the heavy hail storm last year. Mayor Knight says it will take a long time for his town to recover and rebuild.
KNIGHT: You know, clearly, these things take months and, you know, maybe even years to try to get structures up and try to restore them to the pre-storm situations.
MONTAGNE: The mayor of Lancaster, Texas, Marcus Knight. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.