Tornado touches down in Dallas, causing damage and mass power outages
A tornado touched down in Dallas late Sunday evening, prompting widespread power outages and reports of severe damage in parts of the city.
Weather officials confirmed shortly before 9:30 p.m. local time that they had visual confirmation of a tornado in northern Dallas, and urged everyone in the area to “take shelter now.” At least one other tornado was reported shortly after 11 p.m.
We now have visual CONFIRMATION of a tornado in Northern Dallas north of 635 and east of 75. Everyone in northeast Dallas needs to take shelter now!! #dfwwx
— NWS Fort Worth (@NWSFortWorth) October 21, 2019
Officials won’t know the extent of the damage until emergency crews fully investigate the area. In the meantime, police were going door-to-door in some neighborhoods to check on residents.
At least 111,000 people were without power on Sunday evening and weather officials continued to caution residents of more severe weather, including “half dollar size hail,” that could continue into early Monday morning.
Whoa... Insane view of Dallas tornado, that moved through moments ago. pic.twitter.com/Uzmzy2JGBA
— Dakota Smith (@weatherdak) October 21, 2019
Local news outlets are already reporting severe damage along the tornado’s path. According to The Dallas Morning News, a Home Depot appeared to have taken a direct hit, causing the roof to collapse.
There were several other reports of collapsed buildings and downed power lines as well as an account of a car that was flipped on its side by the powerful storm.
The Home Depot at Forest and 75 took a direct hit. pic.twitter.com/mUS7Rs4egQ
— Jesus Jiménez (@jesus_jimz) October 21, 2019
This is the scene at Walnut Hill and Monroe in NW Dallas. This is awful! Search and Rescue efforts are underway in this area now. Crews going door to door. Stay clear of this area and say a prayer for these folks. @CBSDFW#DallasTornado#txwxpic.twitter.com/kPHgnqEHfl
— Ken Molestina (@cbs11ken) October 21, 2019
CBS 11, the local affiliate for the Dallas-Fort Worth area, reported that former President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush live near where the first twister touched down, but they were not impacted by the storm.
“They got lucky and are praying for the safety of their neighbors,” their spokesman told CBS’ Jack Fink.
Emergency officials urged residents to stay indoors overnight, warning of downed trees and power lines.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost.