MAY 20, 2015
Runaway Bay is still running away. Many people in North Texas are cleaning up
after serious storm damage.
There were several tornadoes, high winds, hail and flooding
late Tuesday night, mostly in Palo Pinto, Ellis, Denton and Wise counties.
The National Weather Service confirmed an EF1 tornado that
inflicted heavy damage to houses and apartment buildings in Runaway Bay, which
is about 50 miles northwest of Fort Worth.
The roof of a condo complex was torn off and about 12
families were displaced. But, Wise County Judge J.D. Clark said they did not
need any immediate help from the Red Cross because of all the community
support.
One woman described taking shelter in the hallway of her
home. She said for a few minutes she was very scared about what was going to
happen next.
'It was so loud. I had no clue what was going on over here
because we were in the hall and we were just praying and I was just trying to
be really loud, louder than what it was. I didn't want to scare my kids. It was
pretty bad," Angela Reid said.
Flooding and downed trees were also a problem in Bridgeport
and Runaway Bay.
Wesley Campbell and his wife, Mickey, felt their home near
Bridgeport start to move off its foundation just before a tree came crashing
down onto it.
"We started out the back door, fixing to get out and
felt the house move and slammed into it. And I could hear the whole house
moving and we were too late. So I threw here down between the washer and dryer
and I crawled on top of her and we rode it out. It seemed like forever, but it
finally quit and the windows blew out," he said.
Game wardens had to use a Humvee to rescue about a dozen
residents after their mobile home community in Bridgeport flooded.
“We've waded in waist-deep water tonight rescuing elderly
residents trapped by high water,” police said.
Another confirmed EF1 tornado struck the old North Texas
resort town of Mineral Wells earlier Tuesday evening, causing widespread
damage.
Wind toppled the Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church bell
tower. It had been there since the 1940s.
The First Baptist Church was also damaged. Some of the
stained glass from the 1920s was blown out.
Members showed up right after to help clean up.
“The church is people. It's not a building and so this is
the church that's here tonight. They've been praying for us all over our city,
country praying for us as well,” said Senior Pastor Nathan Buchanan.
Emergency officials appealed for the public to avoid
downtown Mineral Wells to facilitate cleanup work.
FOX 4 viewers caught on video what also appeared to be a
brief tornado touch down in Ellis County Tuesday afternoon.
Angie Ranton said her roof and fence were damaged in the
Saddlebrook Estates neighborhood near Waxahachie.
"Our trampoline used to be in that corner over there
and our playground was in this corner and now part of it is in the trees,"
she said.
The storms knocked out power to thousands of people. There
were about 2,000 customers still without power Wednesday morning, mostly in
Wise and Grayson counties.
Only one school district was affected by the overnight
storms. Alvord ISD decided to delay classes until 10 a.m. with buses running on
a two-hour delay.
The only reported injury from Tuesday night's storms was in
Wise County. A woman in a heavily damaged mobile home park slipped slipped and
broke her wrist.