Residents in Lamar County are beginning to clean up after a tornado damaged dozens of structures, destroying more than 30 buildings.
NWS confirmed Saturday, an EF-3 tornado touched down in Lamar County just after 4 p.m. Friday with wind speeds of up to 160 mph. The track was about 21 miles and stretched into Oklahoma.
In Lamar County, 41 structures have major damage and 32 structures are completely destroyed. Significant damage was spotted in parts of the small Texas towns of Paris, Midcity, and Powderly.
Sandy Springer lives in Powderly with her husband and mother-in-law. All three were home Friday when the storm hit.
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“About that time, we heard our windows breaking out on the side of the house. The house popped, and we can hear stuff going into the ceiling. We got holes in the roof,” Springer said. “It knocked my mother-in-law’s car into my husband’s truck and broke out glasses in both vehicles. Then we had a utility trailer right behind my husband’s truck that was in our driveway. It picked it up and dropped it off the side of the yard.”
Sandra Kelly went to her bathroom to seek shelter with her dog as she heard on the news that the tornado was approaching Powderly.
“I got in the tub. I didn’t even get the blanket over my head and I heard stuff start hitting the house and then it went through the window," said Kelly. “After the stuff started hitting the house, then all of a sudden it got light. I looked up and I could see the sky, so I knew the roof was gone.”
Coy Harmon’s father lives in Paris. His father’s home of 21 years was destroyed.
“If he had gotten home 10 minutes before, he would have been hit,” Harmon said. “When I came around the corner yesterday when he told me something was wrong, I didn’t even recognize it. I almost drove by the house because you’re used to seeing these big old trees here, and their house.”
Nearby, Reece Buster's home was pushed off of its foundation and twisted into a pile of debris.
"Where the house is sitting, I mean that’s the yard," said Buster.
Buster gathered with family and friends as the sun came up Saturday to comb through the remains for any valuables. He said they spent most of the day cleaning up his family's land and rebuilding a fence that blew down.
“I just want people to pray for the people that have lost everything. This is bad but people have it worse than I do," he said.
His family returned to the home on Saturday to salvage family heirlooms and other items important to their family.
At a press conference Saturday, Lamar County officials said no fatalities have been reported. Search and rescue efforts are wrapping up, as no one remains unaccounted for.
An official with Paris Regional Medical Center said the hospital treated 13 patients as a result of the storm, and eight people have been released as of Saturday.
In lieu of item donations, Lamar County officials are asking people to consider monetary donations. They expect a donation system to be set up by Monday afternoon once banks reopen.
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