Watch live: Officials share new details after powerful storm rips through North Texas city of Mineral Wells, causing significant damage, injuries
A powerful storm ripped through the North Texas city of Mineral Wells Tuesday evening and caused serious damage, authorities said.
City officials said Tuesday night that several people were injured and two were brought to Palo Pinto General Hospital, but no critical injuries or deaths were reported. Officials affirmed this in an update shared Wednesday morning.
The storm appeared to have blown through an industrial park, shredding buildings, ripping apart roofs and scattering debris across the area. Metal was wrapped around poles and an HVAC plant was heavily damaged, but employees had been sent home ahead of the storm.
Debris, downed trees, and leaning power lines littered the area. First responders continued to assess the damage overnight.
Officials said other parts of the community, including nearby neighborhoods, were also impacted.
It was unclear if the storm was a tornado.
City officials said curfew has been put place for the Fort Wolters area via a Declaration of Emergency Powers. Those areas include the following locations:
- Energy Avenue (Country Club Estates) to the west
- US Highway 180 to the south
- Washington Avenue to the east
- Armstead Drive to the north
The curfew was in effect at first from 10 p.m. Tuesday night through 6 a.m. Wednesday, and will now occur nightly from 8 p.m. until 6 a.m. until further notice. The city government said people are not permitted to travel or remain within the impacted area unluss authorized during the curfew.
Mineral Wells is located about 45 miles west of Fort Worth.
City emergency officials asked residents to stay home and avoid travel in the northeast area of the city due to the widespread storm damage. A 10 p.m. curfew was issued as well.
Officials said the area from Country Club Estates to Lake Mineral Wells State Park along Highway 180 had confirmed structural damage. First responders were on scene and assessing the situation.
Much of North Texas had been under repeated rounds of severe thunderstorms throughout the afternoon and evening, with tornado warnings, damaging winds and large hail affecting multiple counties as storms continue to track across the region.
