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Crews stop search for tornado victims

Story Highlights

• NEW: Authorities turn attention to cleanup, aiding survivors
• NEW: Texas Gov. Rick Perry en route to inspect damage
• NEW: At least 350 being housed in shelters
• Tornado kills seven near Texas town, three in Mexico
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(CNN) -- Authorities in the southwest Texas border town of Eagle Pass have largely completed search-and-rescue operations in the wake of a powerful tornado that killed 10 people.

The focus is turning to cleaning up after the storm and aiding the survivors, a county official said Wednesday afternoon.

The storm uprooted mobile homes and battered buildings, killing seven people near Eagle Pass and three across the border in Piedras Negras, Mexico. (Gallery: Homes ripped to pieces)

Five family members -- including a young girl -- were killed in the rural area south of Eagle Pass when their mobile home was blown from its foundation and into an elementary school, City Councilman Ramsey English Cantu said. (Watch the scene of destruction as the sun rises over Eagle Pass Video)

Rescuers said family members were found huddled together in the home's bathtub, according to the Web site of the San Antonio Express-News.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry was en route to the area to tour the damage Wednesday afternoon, Maverick County Judge Jose Aranda said.

At least 80 people in Texas were injured by the strong tornado, including four who suffered serious injuries and were evacuated to a medical facility in San Antonio, said Jack Colley, chief of the Governor's Division of Emergency Management.

Of the wounded, 32 have been treated and released, Colley said.

Across the Rio Grande in Piedras Negras, authorities told CNN en Espaņol that at least three people were killed by the same tornado. Forty other people were injured, according to Mexico's El Universal newspaper.

Piedras Negras is a sister city, Cantu said, adding that Eagle Pass has offered to assist the larger town across the Rio Grande.

"If we can help them in any way, we will. But we are still focusing our efforts on making sure everybody's out of that area," Cantu said, referring to the damaged area outside Eagle Pass. (Watch an Eagle Pass home where nothing remains but plumbing Video)

Aranda said most of the Texas damage was in a 1,500-acre area south of Eagle Pass that's mostly made up of mobile homes. He described the damage as "devastating."

An elementary school "was hit pretty much head-on by this tornado" and sustained serious damage, Aranda said. "There was a wrought-iron fence around the school that was twisted and torn and broken. It was just terrible."

Eagle Pass resident Billy Perez told the Express-News: "There were a lot of power lines that were open, and there were trucks with people bloody all over. People were rescuing people all over the place."

Earlier, officials had said several mobile homes were missing. But Aranda said Wednesday afternoon that he did not expect more bodies to be found and that search and rescue operations were largely complete.

About 350 people, he said, were being housed in shelters. Authorities were attempting to clear the damaged areas and allow people to return to their homes as soon as possible, he said. "We're getting ready to assess the entire area and identify exactly how much of a loss it is." (Watch the county judge describe search-and-rescue efforts Video)

Water services remained intact, Aranda said, and electricity was expected to be restored later Wednesday.

The tornado touched down in Eagle Pass at 7:01 p.m., then moved across the Rio Grande into Mexico, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Weather system brings heavy snow, rain

It was part of a larger weather system that dumped 2 feet of snow in Colorado and produced heavy rain that flooded parts of Nebraska.

The storm also produced more than 20 reported tornadoes in Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, according to NOAA. (Watch why some people chase tornadoes Video)

Eagle Pass and Piedras Negras suffered the brunt of the storm system, NOAA said.

Video footage of the damage in Piedras Negras showed aluminum siding littering the streets, with one piece wedged in a treetop. The force of the winds overturned some cars, while others were left with the windows blown out.

Footage from Eagle Pass showed fences and power lines scattered in the streets, with roofs torn off buildings and windows smashed. Mobile homes were reduced to scrap.

A sewage treatment facility also was damaged and must be repaired before it's operational again, said Aranda, the Maverick County judge.

National Guard troops, already in the area helping the U.S. Border Patrol, were called to help sort through what the Maverick County Sheriff's Department chief dispatcher called the "havoc" left behind.

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