Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declares disaster after tornado outbreak

March 22 (UPI) -- Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a severe weather disaster declaration Tuesday one day after at least 10 tornadoes touched down in the state, killing one person.

The disaster declaration covers 16 counties most impacted by Monday's storms, including Bastrop, Cass, Cookie, Grayson, Guadalupe, Houston, Jack, Madison, Marion, Montague, Nacogdoches, Panola, Rusk, Upshur, Williamson and Wise.

Abbott signed the document during a visit to Jacksboro in Jack County, where an EF3 tornado injured nine people, and caused damage to a high school, elementary school, animal shelter, and other businesses and residences, KFDX-TV in Wichita Falls, Texas, reported.

Abbott said the declaration will "accelerate the timetable for communities to rebuild faster."

"The leadership in Jack County saved lives," he tweeted. "So proud of the strong, resilient Texans in this community."

He also visited Crockett, the county seat of Houston County, about 90 miles east of Waco.

Grayson County, north of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, reported the lone death associated with the tornado outbreak. The Grayson County Office of Emergency Management said a tornado killed a 73-year-old woman and damaged at least 20 residences, according to KXAS-TV in Fort Worth.

Eleven other people were injured in the same Sherwood Shores community by the EF2 tornado, the National Weather Service said.