Storm, winds damage at least 70 La Porte houses

LA PORTE, Texas – A tornado with winds up to 115 mph ripped through La Porte Saturday morning, damaging at least 70 homes.

"I was half asleep and I just heard a boom," said Bonnie Reinart, who lives off Desert Run Drive in the Summer Winds subdivision.

The strong winds ripped apart her backyard, tossing over a swing set, fencing and chairs.

"One of the trees smashed into our patio," Reinart said.

But the worst damage happened next door to Reinart, where strong winds ripped almost the entire roof off her neighbor's house.

"It sounded like something was banging really hard on the bedroom door," Subriya Jadhav, who lives in the home.

She and her two children hunkered down in a bathroom until the storm passed. At daylight, she saw the damage for the first time. The winds had ripped apart walls of brick from her home. White insulation from the attic was all over her front yard.

"I mean, it's terrible. I don't know what we're going to do next," Jadhav said.

Throughout the day, neighbors stopped by to help the family salvage furniture and other items from the home.

Despite the damage and power outage to many residents Saturday night, several trick-or-treaters made their way around the neighborhood. By 10:30 p.m. Saturday, the street lights on Desert Run Drive had been turned back on and many residents along the block had their power restored.

Due to all the damage, La Porte Independent School District decided to cancel classes at all of its campuses on Monday. Classes at Jennie Reid Elementary are also canceled for Tuesday. Crews were on campus Saturday evening trying to clean up after what appeared to be a water leak from the roof.