At least one individual was killed and practically a dozen hospitalized after a twister struck an unincorporated Gulf Coast group in Texas on Saturday, damaging quite a few constructions and taking down energy strains, officers stated.
A extreme thunderstorm that spawned a twister hit Laguna Heights, close to South Padre Island and surrounding communities, reminiscent of Port Isabel, round 4 a.m.
The Port Isabel police chief, Robert Lopez, stated 10 individuals had been hospitalized, with two of them in important situation. The others had minor cuts and bruises.
Officials confirmed that a number of constructions sustained “extensive damage.”
A freeway was closed within the morning as crews cleared particles and downed energy strains. Road closures had been lifted within the afternoon, Chief Lopez stated. About 35 individuals had been in a shelter that was arrange for emergency use, he added.
A spokesman on the Cameron County Sheriff’s Department stated officers had been nonetheless surveying the realm for harm.
Angelica Soria, a meteorologist on the National Weather Service workplace in Brownsville, Texas, stated officers decided in a preliminary harm evaluation {that a} twister was on the bottom for 5 minutes. The harm was according to a twister with wind speeds between 86 to 110 miles per hour.
“The survey team is still going to go through the damage assessment,” Ms. Soria stated. “I know it wasn’t a very large swath, but I don’t have the exact mileage yet.”
The storm comes after extreme climate this week struck Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma. The area was pummeled with excessive winds and really massive hail.
Source: www.nytimes.com