UPSHUR COUNTY, Texas — The National Weather Service has confirmed that an EF-2 tornado touched down in Upshur County.
At the intersection of Azalea Rd and SH 154, there is a trail of debris including an uprooted tree and puddles of water throughout the city. Although there is significant damage, no one has been harmed by the storm. Matt Darby, the Campus Pastor at New Beginnings Baptist Church, described what the storm has done to members of their congregation.
"We've had church members that have lost their homes with significant damage," said Darby. "People that just live within a short distance of our campus that have lost their homes."
The damage that their city has experienced isn't stopping the church from supporting their community. Their congregation is working alongside the Northeast Texas Habitat for Humanity to help those in need due to the damage of the storm.
"We're coordinating with the fire department and city management to get these people food, water, gloves, trash, bags, totes, anything they need in this moment for them to be able to begin that process of recovery," explained Darby.
The community is working non-stop to recover after the destruction of the EF-2 tornado. This status was confirmed by the National Weather Service's Warning Coordination Meteorologist Charlie Woodrum.
"We've got still several, probably another day or two of damage assessments to make the final determination on the wind speed and the intensity of the rating of the tornado, the overall length and width of it," explained Woodrum.
The damages in the city are able to speak for themselves as the community comes together to support one another. The warnings regarding the weather helped citizens avoid being seriously harmed during the storm, but the community in Upshur County wants one another to expect help from each other.
"Our goal is to have showers, laundry unit set up for the bulk of the remainder of the week. so that as families are at that place where it is time they need to do laundry, they have a place where they can come," said Darby.
The story is still developing and CBS19 will keep you updated on any additional developments.