‘God took care of us,’ says survivor of tornado that smashed Arlington neighborhood
Amber LeBlanc and her husband, Rocky Cordova, were sitting on their couch Tuesday night when a loud boom rocked their Arlington neighborhood on Southridge Drive.
It lasted only a few seconds.
“It sounded like a train,” Cordova said Wednesday.
LeBlanc took a peek outside. “It was all gray,” she said. “We saw it in our back yard.”
LeBlanc believes they saw a tornado. Within seconds, part of their neighbor’s roof was in the back yard, a tree lay shattered in one corner of the yard and their fence on the south side was knocked down.
“I’m still in shock,” LeBlanc said Wednesday morning as residents and officials woke up to the damage caused by a tornado and severe storms Tuesday night in Arlington and other parts of North Texas.
In east and central Arlington, roofs and other parts of about eight buildings collapsed, the Arlington Fire Department said in a news release Wednesday. The damaged buildings included four apartment complexes, two commercial buildings, a church, and a residential home. Three people were taken to local hospitals with minor injuries and later released.
Damage assessments were continuing Wednesday, but initial reports indicated about 75 families were displaced at four apartment complexes: Waterdance Apartments at 2206 Waterdance Circle, Mirage Apartments at 600 Dudley Circle, Garden Park Apartments at 1609 Sherry St., and Colorado Square Apartments at 1234 Colorado Lane.
“I was just finishing making banana pies when we heard a loud thunder,” Maria Macias, who lives in the Mirage Apartments, told the Star-Telegram. “Then the roof came off.”
Within seconds, rain started pouring into her family’s apartment.
“We also don’t have any cars,” Macias said, pointing to two vehicles in the complex parking lot that were damaged. “God took care of us.”
The tornado hit the Arlington area about 9 p.m. Tuesday as a line of thunderstorms pounded North Texas, also causing damage in Grand Prairie, according to the National Weather Service in Fort Worth and local authorities. Emergency management in Grand Prairie reported significant damage to at least four structures near Highway 360 and Park Row, according to the weather service.
Meteorologists with the National Weather Service said, based on radar data, that a twister hit Arlington. A survey team was out Wednesday assessing damage in the hardest-hit areas.
“They will be out to determine how intense the winds were at that time,” said meteorologist Jason Dunn with the National Weather Service in a telephone interview. “They also will be out to try and track it and how wide it was.”
The weather service said Wednesday afternoon that the survey team found EF-2 tornado damage in south Arlington, near Pioneer Parkway and South Center Street. The tornado’s estimated maximum winds speeds were 115 mph. The weather service was still determining the path and width of the tornado.
Dunn said a tornado in November is not rare in North Texas.
“We could get a tornado any month of the year here,” Dunn said.
Ruben Arsiaga, who lives on Southridge Court in Arlington, had been standing outside of his home Tuesday night when he went back inside.
“I probably took three steps inside of my home and then boom, boom, boom,” Arsiaga said Wednesday morning.
The storm had arrived in his neighborhood, hurling plywood, branches and other debris against his home.
“One minute, it was so calm. No noise. Nothing,” he said. “And then it came quickly.”
The city activated its outdoor tornado warning sirens. First responders found a wide range of damage including debris on roads, gas leaks and downed power lines, according to the city news release. Buildings had damage including torn-off roofs, partial structural collapses and broken windows. The gas leaks were fixed by morning, and no fires were reported.
“We spent a significant amount of time at the apartment complexes just to make sure that not only was everyone safe but that they weren’t displaced,” said Lt. Richard Fegan with the Arlington Police Department.
Fegan said that about 15 families in one complex were able to be moved into other units. The others are being helped by the American Red Cross, Fegan said.
About 25 families needed emergency lodging on Tuesday night, according to Lisa Morgan, a spokesperson for the American Red Cross.
As of Wednesday morning, the Red Cross was helping people who live in about 80 apartment units across the path of damage.
That number will possibly grow as people assess damage throughout the day. If you need assistance, call 1-800-RED CROSS.
Police were flying the department’s drone over the damage Wednesday to see exactly what happened, Fegan said.
Damage was reported in an area from South Cooper Street and Colorado Lane to Pioneer Parkway and Center Street, police said. Most of the damage is concentrated along Mayfield Road and Pioneer Parkway between Bowen Road to the west and State Highway 360 to the east, city officials said.
Part of East Pioneer Parkway remained closed Wednesday in the area where homes and the apartment complexes were damaged and debris was in the road.
Isaiah Akosa was home at the Mirage Apartments on Tuesday night when the storm hit.
“It felt like an earthquake,” Akosa said Wednesday morning. “My brother and I were watching a movie, and I thought the world was ending.”
The storm peeled off part of the roof where Akosa lived.
“We scrambled to move our clothes and stuff out of the rain,” Akosa said.
Arlington firefighters were called to rescue people from upper floors at apartment complex buildings as well as from vehicles at a restaurant drive-thru that were covered by fallen debris, the city said in a news release.
“Given the extent of the storm damage, we are very fortunate that we saw so few injuries,” said Assistant Fire Chief Jonathan Ingols. “Now we are working diligently to help our residents and businesses clean up and recover as quickly as possible.”
Star-Telegram media partner WFAA-TV reported part of a wall at a Burger Box restaurant at 2501 S. Cooper St. fell onto two vehicles in the drive-thru lane. A family who were trapped in one car had only minor injuries but needed help getting out of the vehicle, Arlington officials told WFAA.
DFW Scanner reported damage in Arlington to the Safelite AutoGlass facility at Cooper Street and Secretary Drive, and roof damage to a commercial building in the 1100 block of Colorado Lane.
Residents are asked to contact the Arlington Action Center at 817-459-6777 to report storm damage. The city will place dumpsters in the hardest hits areas to assist property owners with cleanup. Residents can place bundled fence panels, limbs and brush at their curbside for pickup.
Before the storms hit Tarrant County, wind gusts of 64 mph were reported Tuesday night at the Mineral Wells Airport, according to the NWS in Fort Worth. Light damage was reported in Fannin and Denton counties from the storms.
“You had pockets of strong winds in the the storms which caused sporadic damage throughout North Texas,” said Dunn, the NWS meteorologist.
Near Krum, in Denton County, the city’s fire department said there was a 65 mph wind gust about 8 p.m.
The weather service said that about 9 p.m., a severe thunderstorm that was capable of producing a tornado was located near Grand Prairie and was moving east at 45 mph.
The weather service briefly issued a tornado warning for east-central Tarrant County and northwestern Dallas County.
At 10:35 p.m. Tuesday, the weather service said all warnings had expired for counties in North and Central Texas.
At 6 a.m. Wednesday, more than 2,600 customers were without power in Tarrant County, according to Oncor. As of 9:45 a.m., more than 1,300 still did not have power.
Oncor and Atmos were still working to restore power and natural gas to affected neighborhoods in Arlington on Wednesday afternoon, city officials said in a news release. A road closure at Sherry Street and Park Row Drive was expected to reopen by 4 p.m., while the New York Avenue closure at Trent Drive may remain in place through Wednesday evening while crews work to remove downed electrical and communication lines.
Many residents who rode out the storm in homes and apartments were still grateful, the day before Thanksgiving.
“Thank God everyone is OK,” Akosa said. “I just don’t know what will happen next.”
Showers and isolated thunderstorms are in the forecast for Friday and the weekend in North Texas. There’s a 60% chance of rain on Saturday night, according to the National Weather Service.
This story was originally published November 25, 2020 at 6:11 AM.
