LIBERTY COUNTY, Texas – Some neighbors in Liberty County are picking up pieces of their property after a tornado-warned storm moved through Tuesday.
KPRC 2 News Reporter Corley Peel was out on FM 1010 between Plum Grove and Cleveland, where a homeowner and a church are cleaning up damage.
Homeowner Donald Enloe took shelter, alone in his house, as the storm shredded a metal shop next to his home. He says the moments felt like an eternity.
“It was quiet and then all of a sudden it turned pitch black, dark, and then within a few seconds the wind started blowing crazy. From one side I could hear rocks and sand hitting the side of automobiles, metal scraps screeching and glass breaking,” Enloe said.
As the wind speeds picked up, Enloe took cover, rushing his dogs inside his house. Surveillance video captured the moments the strong winds blew large sheets of metal through his yard.
“Then it stopped just for a few seconds and then it started again,” he said. “It started again and the wind was blowing the other direction.”
He says the destruction happened all in a period of about two minutes, but it felt like an eternity.
“I come outside and everything was destroyed around it expect for the house,” he said.
Once it was calm, metal scraps were found tangled in trees. They were from Enloe’s auto shop, which was destroyed. Using a flashlight, Enloe showed Peel the damage.
“18 wheeler in there and there is a boat, that’s a 42 foot boat, all that metal wrapped around it,” he said.
Another boat was left untouched. Next door, the Family Worship Center of Plum Grove, where Enloe’s brother is a pastor, had its windows shattered by the strong winds.
“Tomorrow morning, I’ve got some workers coming and we’re going to clean it up and make it a decent place to live again,” he said.
Enloe says he does have an electrical concern because there is a breaker box underneath a panel that he’s worried could cause a fire. He says he is getting an electrician and an inspector to come out and check on his house.