A blast of severe thunderstorms and a possible tornado moved through Texas' Houston region on Tuesday, leaving motorists stranded and destroying several buildings including a senior assisted living center and an animal shelter.
Local media reported that at least one person sustained injuries. Two dogs were also reported to be injured after Cypress Lucky Mutt Rescue, an animal shelter, was destroyed by the tornado.
“The Pasadena Animal Shelter was destroyed by a tornado today. We have a volunteer heading there now to see how we can help but all of the dogs are going to need a safe place. If you have any room (even in your garage) and have the heart to open your home to any of these poor animals now is the time to step up! This is going to take the rescue village!” The shelter wrote on Facebook.
Video footage captured from the affected area showed dozens of homes destroyed, with officials noting that upwards of 50 people have been left displaced.
According to the NWS the tornado moved across southern Harris County, near I-45 and Beltway 8 South. It then continued to travel east and northeast through Pasadena, Deer Park and Houston Ship Channel. The tornado was traveling at a speed of about 60 MPH according to Houston’s NWS.
“In my 25 years here, this is probably the worst damage I’ve seen,” Chief Josh Bruegger told reporters. He added the cleanup will likely require extensive work for the city of 152,000 people.
Sheriff Ed Gonzalez also informed the public via Twitter that the Harris County Sheriff’s Department was “responding to a high number of stranded motorists,” on Tuesday afternoon. Several commercial trucks were reportedly left overturned near Beltway 8, and some power lines were also brought down by the storm.
On Tuesday night at about 8:09 p.m. local time Texas had 87,959 customers without power, according to PowerOutage.us.
On Tuesday Texas Governor Gregg Abbott said he had called for the Texas Division of Emergency Management to prepare “state resources ahead of severe weather expected across our state.”
The severe storm threat is expected to continue across the Gulf Coast on Tuesday night with heavy rains, flash flooding and severe thunderstorms remaining possible throughout the night. It is forecasted to move toward the eastern Gulf Coast and Southwest on Wednesday.