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Emergency crews are going door to door across northeast Bexar County and San Antonio today, checking up on people in the areas which were hit the hardest by this morning's tornado, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
"We're trying to determine if their homes are still liveable, and if not, do they have someplace to stay," Emergency Operations spokeswoman Monica Ramos said. "Kind of making an informal damage assessment."
The National Weather Service confirms that a tornado touched down in the Olmos Basin, damaging some fifty homes west of the Quarry Market, mainly on Linda and Sharon Streets. This tornado was an EF-1, with winds of 105 miles an hour.
The third tornado caused damage in Northern Hills, on Putting Green Road. That neighborhood is near Thousand Oaks and Wetmore. That was an EF-1, with 110 mile an hour winds.
The City says the strongest of the two stayed on the ground for four miles. It touched down at the San Pedro Driving Range near San Pedro and Basse, and traveled in a northeasterly direction, ending near Loop 410 and Starcrest
A second tornado is responsible for damage in northeast Bexar County, in the Camelot and The Glen neighborhoods. THE second tornado was an EF-0, with winds of 75 miles per hour.
Judy Gamboa was awakened by what she thought was a low flying plane."Planes fly over the house all the time, and I thought, but, that one was pretty low," she said. "Then stuff started hitting my window and I asked 'what's going on?' And I was told, 'we just had a tornado'."
This man lives on Sharon Drive.
"There was a big boom, and then it dropped like that, and I wondered, what the heck is going on? Then I realized what had happened."
The National Weather Service says 150 homes had significant damage from this morning's storm, almost all of them on the northeast side.
There was damage at the Chateau Dijon Condominiums on Broadway, where a roof blew off.Some 30 homes were also backly damaged in the Camelot and The Glens neighborhoods in northeast Bexar County.
CPS Energy says they've gone from some 45,000 customers without electricity at the height of the storm, to about 16,000 now.Ramos says it also didn't take long for crooks to take advantage of the crisis.
"Privately owned tree cutting crews are offering to cut down trees for residents. There are also roofing companies appearing in the area," she said. "Bexar County highly recommends that homeowners contact their insurance companies before taking any action if possible. Rental residents should contact their landlords immediately. The removal of such debris and premature repairs can inhibit the ability to claim damages."
City officials say crews are also making the rounds, removing debris from streets and also checking on the stability of homes in the storm area.
The Red Cross has set up an emergency shelter at Blessed Sacrament school on Oblate near San Pedro, where crews will help affected people with mental and physical health needs and tips on how to rebuild.Some thirty streets remain closed due to high water.