A severe thunderstorm that brought high winds and rain through East Texas ripped the roof off a church, downed power lines and damaged a Longview nursing home, causing its evacuation.
A Longview police spokeswoman tells the Longview News-Journal that although the damage was widespread, there were no injuries reported from the Thursday storms.
Longview fire officials helped evacuate about 75 patients from Eden Select Specialty Care to other nursing homes or to a local hospital.
Fallen trees blocked sections of major roadways, causing road closures. AEP Southwestern Electric Power Co. reports that thousands of customers were left without power as of Thursday night in several East Texas counties.
The National Weather Service office in Shreveport says the service likely will send people Friday morning to investigate damage from the storm.
