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FRANKLIN, Texas (KWTX) Saturday 8:30 PM Update:
Photo by Brady Taylor
A preliminary damage study confirmed that an EF-3 tornado had landed in Robertson County with maximum winds at 140 mph.
The National Meteorological Service indicates that the survey is still ongoing and that it will take a few days to assess the other areas.
More than a dozen people were injured in one way or another, but most injuries would be minor.
At a press conference held in the evening, officials demanded that food and other donations be brought to the Brazos Valley food bank, as Franklin's food bank was destroyed by the tornado .
There are 230 structures damaged.
The lights are asked to stay clear and the officers will be on duty 24 hours a day to patrol the damaged areas.
Volunteers wishing to assist should call the EOC to be placed on a list and contacted as needed at 979-828-6680.
If animals have been lost or if you need a safe place for your pet while you are cleaning up the debris from the storm, the Agriculture Extension Office, located just outside of Franklin, you offers his help.
Residents of South Franklin are advised to boil their water until further notice.
By Saturday night, about 4,000 residents are out of electricity, probably late Sunday, before electricity is restored in most areas.
Officials will hold another press conference at 8:00 am Sunday morning to take stock of stimulus efforts.
Previous report:
The city of Franklin was hit directly by a tornado Saturday morning.
The damage is widespread throughout the city.
Judge Charles L. Ellison of Robertson County said at a press conference that the south side of the city had suffered the most damage.
"We have about half of Texas that came to help us and we lost about half of the south of Franklin.It is totally destroyed, and people from Austin and San Antonio came to help." he declared.
Mobile homes were damaged, cars were knocked down and power lines were down.
KWTX meteorologist Brady Taylor also said that there was a strong smell of natural gas.
Tiffany Witherspoon, of the Robertson County Sheriff's Office, said there was "a fair amount of injury, but no death".
It was later determined that nine people had minor injuries, but only two had been treated.
Franklin's firefighters returned home to check their presence.
The city is subject to a mandatory curfew from 20h. Saturday at 7am Sunday.
Individuals attempting to verify their loved ones can contact the Franklin Pridgion Center at (979) 828-3276.
Those who were injured were sent to the Methodist Church to be controlled.
For the displaced, Franklin's first Baptist church opened as a shelter.
People were also asked to call the Robertson County Sheriff's Office to report the live lines.
It's the second stormy weekend that hit Robertson County.
A tornado warning was issued for the storm as it was crossing the county.
The storms caused power outages in central Texas at 1:30 pm Oncor reported that there were 1,000 customers in Leon County, 1,400 in Limestone Coiunty, 5,500 in the county of McLennan, 500 in Freestone County, 1,700 in Falls County, 1,800 in Bell County without electricity.
Entergy reported that 600 clients in Leon County and 3,100 others in Robertson were without electricity at 4:00 pm
This situation is new and this story will be updated as new information becomes available.
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