MINERAL WELLS, Texas — Vicious winds burst through the front door of Christopher Hester's duplex apartment, then started ripping the roof apart. Hester and his wife grabbed their dog and ducked into a hallway to the sound of breaking glass, furniture hitting the walls and a howl like a monstrous vacuum cleaner.
“It was kind of hard to see because of the debris,” Hester, 33, said Wednesday, standing amid the ruins of his home. “I was able to see the tornado. And all of my stuff go into the sky.”
Officials confirmed that a tornado on Tuesday tore through this small Texas city, sending five people to a hospital as it flattened buildings used for manufacturing and ravaged nearby homes. Police and firefighters said they feared the worst when they first saw the damage in Mineral Wells, home to about 15,000 people.
“We are most grateful for no loss of life in this event yesterday,” Mayor Regan Johnson told a news conference Wednesday. "When you see the destruction that's here, you can tell that’s really amazing.”
Hester and his wife searched through overturned furniture and scattered debris Wednesday for their two missing cats and any belongings they could salvage. Their roof was gone and the windows were blown out, along with the apartment's front and back walls.
“By the grace of God we are still standing here today,” Hester said.
Allison Prater, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Fort Worth, said the tornado touched down in Mineral Wells with winds of at least 120 mph (193 kph). The weather service sent a team Wednesday to survey the destruction 80 miles (130 kilometers) west of Dallas.
Stormy week kills at least 3 people in Texas, Michigan
Violent weather has been plaguing parts of the South and Midwest. Two people died in North Texas last weekend as thunderstorms spawned destructive tornadoes, and a Michigan man was killed on Monday by a tree that toppled in a storm.
A hail storm damaged roofs, skylights and parked vehicles Tuesday at a zoo in Springfield, Missouri, and also killed one of its large birds. A female emu named Adam died from head trauma as hail fell at the Dickerson Park Zoo, spokesperson Joey Powell said Wednesday.
More severe storms were possible Wednesday across the South and parts of the Mid-Atlantic. The weather service said there was a slight chance of damaging winds and large hail across portions of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
Tornado damage forces manufacturer to shut down
In Mineral Wells, local officials spoke with reporters Wednesday in a subdivision strewn with splintered lumber, fallen trees and other debris.
Fire Chief Ryan Dunn said five people injured in the storm went to a hospital for treatment. Others were treated for minor injuries by first responders.
“As we arrived on scene, we noticed there was a lot of debris, a lot of roofs off,” Dunn said. "And then we started seeing buildings collapse.”
Dunn said most of the area struck by the tornado is used for commercial and industrial purposes, though some homes were also damaged. At least two manufacturers suffered heavy damage.
One was Ventamatic, which makes large fans and other ventilation equipment in Mineral Wells. The company said on its website that employees evacuated ahead of the storm and none were injured. Operations were shut down Wednesday “due to severe damage and ongoing safety hazards,” the company said.
More than 9,000 homes and businesses were without electricity across Texas on Wednesday afternoon, according to the tracking site PowerOutage.us. About 230 of those outages were in the Mineral Wells area.
Mineral Wells officials declared a local state of disaster and imposed an overnight curfew that will remain in place Wednesday, Police Chief Tim Denison said.
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Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia.
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