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Tornado Hits Downtown Mineral Wells

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MINERAL WELLS (CBSDFW.COM) - Storm damage is hard to miss in Mineral Wells, after a tornado passed right through the heart of downtown on Tuesday night. Debris is scattered throughout the streets, large trees are snapped in half, and buildings are ripped apart.

Because of where the tornado hit, most of the damage was done to area businesses -- not homes.

The roof of the county annex building was peeled off, landing on an abandoned bank across the street. Two churches in Mineral Wells were also damaged. A wall collapsed at a Baptist church during the storm, and a Catholic church's stone bell tower fell down.

The larger pieces of debris have already been moved away from roads and onto sidewalks. Much of downtown Mineral Wells will be shut down on Wednesday so that the mess can continue to be cleaned up.

Most of Mineral Wells was still in the dark on Wednesday morning, the result of downed power lines all across the city. Crews have been working to quickly restore electricity to customers.

Stormy Auld's family rode out the twister in their bathroom -- all eight members. "It sounded like a train," Auld said on Tuesday night. "We all screamed and cried and jumped in the bathtub."

There were no reports of injuries. "You just gotta count your blessings," added Auld.

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