HomeMy WebLinkAboutTornado damage
Residents survey damage.
By APRIL A VISON
eagle Staff Writer .
Broken glass, trees and
home insulation littered
the parking lot. of Doux
Chene Apartments in Col-
lege Station on Friday
afternoon after a tornado
swirled through the area,
taking off roofs and leav-
ing residents wondering
what happened.
Jeremiah Schmidt and
his. friend Virginia Hyer
were exercising in the
weight room of the apart-
ment complex around 3:15
p.m. when they noticed
through the window that
the wind had picked up
A PLACE TO STAY
said. Schmidt, 28, who
.lives in the complex. A
trash bin was bloWIl into
the middle of the parking
lot, and a tree feU ona
truck, cracking the wind-
shield,
Once 'it. appeared that
the wind had died down,
the pair 'headed oUtside to
make sure Schmidt's
apartment was OK. Sever-
al residents were ga.th-
ered in the parking]()t,
sharing stori~s andcolll-
miseratingabout 'their
soaked property. .
"OM guy said they
were sitting in the living
See TWISTER,Pa~~A6
Management at Doux
Chene Apartments is han-
dling relocation for those who
need a place to stay, Resi-
der'\tsof the complex can call
693-1906 to get a hotel.
voucher.
speed"
"[Meteorologist] Bob
French was on the news
telling us. that there was a
tornado warning in'
effect," Schmidt said. "We
had a front-row seat."
The wind spiraled into
a dark cloud and touched
the gr:ound, blowing
debris Past the, windows,
Twister
''''"l
playing PlayStation
when their roof blew off,"
. Schmidt said.
FourbuiIdings in the com-
plex had "roofs completely
missing," according to Bart
Humphreys of the College Sta-
tion Fire Department.
There were' no major
injuries, Humphrey said,
adding that damage to build-
ings Was. reported along Har-
vey Mitchell Parkway, in 'the
2200 block of Texas Avenue .
and near the intersection of
Texas . and , Southwest Pimk-
way.'
Schmidt said his apartment
appeared to escape mgjor dam- ,
age, but he said he planned to .
check later to make sure there
were no leaks.
The complex was evacuated
late Friday night because Col-
lege Station Utilities decided
to leave the electricity to the
apartments turned off . until
workers could more thorough-
~y evaluate the. damage.
. About 180' residents were
displaced, at least. for the
night. Utility . crews' . were
expectedtoretJll:n earlySatur.
day to cohtinueinspeCting tM
:pro:perty. .
Management at Dotix Chene
is handling' relocation for
those who need a place to stay.
Residents of. the .complex can
call .693-1906 to get a hotel
voucher.
Nearby busin~sse$ m;ay also
have to n1ake some repairs
Over the weekend. SevEmil
windows were shattered; .and
awnings blewojf a Shopping
center next to the aparhnent
complex.
.Jesse . Gordon and Andres
DeLaconcha said they
watched the tornado unfold
from inside The Arsenal Tat-
. too and Design.
"It started spiralmg, and it
got really dark," DeLaconcha .
Said. "It started rainrng and
there were super hard-core
hurricane winds. We W'ent in
.the b,athtoom and. stayed there
qntil it passed.
''I'm from 'West Te:Xas. I've
seen toniaqoes, but I've never
s~en anYthing like this."
II April Avison's e-mail address is
april.aitison@theeagle.com,
A tornado
struck parts 0
south College
Station on
, Friday,causinJ
damage to
businesses,
homes and
apartments.
Storms blew
through the
. area during
mucltof the
dilY.
Eagle photo
Dave McDermand