Carl Johnston steps over a broken fence as he helps with cleanup Sunday at the Bent Creek Estates subdivision following a severe storm that wreaked havoc in Denton, Texas.

VAN, Texas — Emergency responders searched the wreckage of communities in northeast Texas and southwest Arkansas early today, after a rash of tornadoes killed at least two people, left dozens injured and 10 missing.

Howard County Sheriff Brian McJunkins said two victims who lived in adjoining mobile homes in Nashville, Arkansas, died after several tornadoes were reported in the area late Sunday. McJunkins told KLSA-TV that two other people in the town were critically injured.

In neighboring Texas, a likely tornado pummeled the small city of Van in Van Zandt County around 8:45 p.m. Chuck Allen, the Van Zandt County fire marshal and emergency management coordinator, said about 30 percent of the city was damaged in the storm.

Allen said at a news conference today 10 adults are unaccounted for and 26 had been taken to hospitals. The extent of their injuries was not immediately clear. About 50 people stayed overnight at a church shelter, he said.

“Damages range from completely destroyed homes, damaged homes, to trees and power lines down,” Allen said in an e-mail.

Allen said authorities were going door to door in the city hunting for injured people. Van has about 2,600 residents.

Utility companies are working to restore “vital infrastructures,” and road and bridge crews are working to open streets and highways to allow for first responder access, he said.

The American Red Cross planned to open a shelter at First Baptist Church in Van, Allen said.

The Van Independent School District said on its website schools would be closed today.

The National Weather Service believes at least one tornado hit Van on Sunday night, senior meteorologist Eric Martello said. Weather service crews were surveying the area today.