Texas tornado leaves 5 injured, buildings collapsed and homes without roofs

MINERAL WELLS, Texas (AP) - Officials confirmed Wednesday that a tornado tore through this small city in eastern Texas, sending five people to a hospital as it flattened buildings used for manufacturing and ripped the roofs off nearby homes.

Local officials said they feared the worst when they saw buildings collapsing as a powerful storm struck Tuesday in Mineral Wells, home to about 15,000 people west of Dallas.

"We are moist grateful for no loss of life in this event yesterday," Mayor Regan Johnson told a news conference Wednesday. "When you see the destruction that's here, you can tell that's really amazing."

Allison Prater, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Fort Worth, said the tornado touched down in Mineral Wells with winds of at least 120 mph (193 kph). The weather service sent a team Wednesday to survey the destruction in the town, located about 80 miles (130 kilometers) west of Dallas.

Violent weather has plagued parts of the South and Midwest over the past week. Two people died in North Texas last weekend as thunderstorms spawned destructive tornadoes, and a Michigan man was killed on Monday by a falling tree that toppled in a storm.

A hail storm damaged roofs, skylights and parked vehicles Tuesday at a zoo in Springfield, Missouri, and also killed one of its large birds. A female emu named Adam died from head trauma as hail fell at the Dickerson Park Zoo, spokesperson Joey Powell said Wednesday.

More severe storms were possible Wednesday across the South and parts of the Mid-Atlantic. The weather service said there was a slight chance of damaging winds and large hail across portions of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

In Mineral Wells, local officials spoke with reporters Wednesday while standing in front of splintered lumber, fallen trees and other debris strewn around a housing subdivision.

Fire Chief Ryan Dunn said five people injured in the storm went to a hospital for treatment. Others were treated for minor injuries by first responders.

"As we arrived on scene, we noticed there was a lot of debris, a lot of roofs off," Dunn said. "And then we started seeing buildings collapse."

Dunn said most of the area struck by the tornado is used for commercial and industrial purposes, though some homes were also damaged. Local officials noted at least two manufacturers suffered heavy damage.

One of them was Ventamatic, which makes large fans and other ventilation equipment in Mineral Wells. The company said on its website that employees evacuated ahead of the storm and none were injured. Operations were shut down Wednesday "due to severe damage and ongoing safety hazards," the company said.

More than 9,000 homes and businesses were without electricity across Texas on Wednesday afternoon, according to the tracking site PowerOutage.us. About 230 of those outages were in the Mineral Wells area.

Mineral Wells officials declared a local state of disaster and imposed an overnight curfew that will remain in place Wednesday, Police Chief Tim Denison said.