Hundreds of homes damaged, dozens of people injured after two tornadoes hit Temple

BELL COUNTY, Texas (KXAN/Nexstar) — The National Weather Service confirmed two tornadoes hit reported in Bell County Wednesday evening.

NWS surveyed storm damage on Thursday for areas from Morgan’s Point to Temple to Seaton in east Bell County and confirmed two tornadoes hit Bell County.

Severe thunderstorms moved through the area on Wednesday, where video of a tornado in the City of Temple was received, the weather service said. Additional areas could be surveyed if further storm reports are received.

Video above shows damaged houses near West Adams Avenue on Meadowbrook Drive in Temple.

Bell County Public Health posted on social media saying the City of Temple declared an emergency declaration due to Wednesday’s storms.

Temple is about 70 miles — or roughly an hour’s drive — north of Austin up I-35.

The storm peeled away the walls of a Shipley’s Donuts building and knocked over power lines. KXAN photojournalist Jordan Belt was in Temple and reported wood piercing through the building of a Walgreens as well. We also saw snapped utility poles, as well as debris from the roof of a hotel with water spraying from the building. Cars at a Walmart parking lot were also damaged.

Brianna Edwards lived next to the strip mall where a Shipley’s Donuts building and other businesses were decimated by the tornado. She said she saw the twister moving toward her house before quickly waking up her boyfriend and taking cover in their closet.

“We could literally hear the house falling apart around us,” she said. “we got out of there as fast as we could.”

With large windows throughout the house, she said the glass exploded inward with shards minorly injuring her boyfriend as they were escaping into another room.

Edwards and her family spent Thursday sifting through the rubble looking for anything salvageable. The tornado, combined with the rain, damaged the majority of her belongings. She is asking for anyone to help them recover through this GoFundMe page .

City officials said the west side of the city, near West Adams Street, was hit the hardest and received the brunt of the damage. Officials said they estimated about 500 homes had some type of damage, with a majority of them only receiving minor damage, but around 100 had more serious or structural damage.

Temple’s fire chief said about 30 people were injured, but those were minor injuries and officials have not yet received any reports of hospitalizations due to the storm.

City officials also said crews are working to clear the remaining debris and advised that residents stay off the roads if possible.

The weather service said results from the survey should be completed Thursday evening.

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