TEMPLE, Texas — Thousands of people are without power after storms ripped through Central and East Texas Wednesday night.

What You Need To Know

  • A tornado touched down in Temple Wednesday evening, which left more than 50,000 people without power going into Thursday morning

  • City officials issued a local emergency declaration due to the severe storm

  • The Temple Independent School District canceled classes Thursday

One of the hardest hit areas was Bell County, where a tornado touched down in Temple—a city north of Austin that is home to 90,000 people—leaving widespread damage and forcing city officials to issue a local emergency declaration. 

A spokesperson with the city confirmed the reports of a tornado and said there are reports of downed power lines, downed trees and property damage throughout the area where it blew through. As of Wednesday night, there were no reports of people suffering life-threatening injuries or any fatalities.

Due to the storm damage, the city closed these facilities Thursday:

  • Temple Public Library
  • Frank W. Mayborn Civic & Convention Center
  • Railroad & Heritage Museum
  • Sammons Community Center
  • Sammons Golf Course
  • Sammons Indoor Pool
  • Summit Recreation Center
  • Wilson Recreation Center
  • Heart to Home Animal Adoption Center

The Wilson Recreation Center will serve as a shelter for any residents who need it. 

According to the Oncor outage map, more than 150,000 people were without power Wednesday night in Bell County. By early Thursday morning, that number was down to just over 50,000.

As of Thursday afternoon, 43,000 residents of Bell County were without power. 

The Fort Cavazos Army installation reported “significant debris” blocking range roads, and emergency service officials were sent out to establish traffic control points.

Because of the storm damage, the Temple Independent School District canceled classes Thursday, and Friday was already a scheduled holiday. Superintendent Bobby Ott told the Temple Daily Telegram that four campuses were without power, and the district planned to assess the storm damage on Thursday.

In the neighboring city of Belton, officials also reported widespread power outages and storm damage. A spokesperson with the Belton Police Department said there were trees down over multiple roads and flooding blocking roads in several places. No injuries were reported as of Wednesday night. 

Later Thursday morning, Bell County officials issued a disaster declaration. 

"This Declaration recognizes that the scope of this event has exceeded our capacity to fully address it at a local level," Bell County Emergency Management Coordinator Bob Reinhard said in a news release. "Through a Disaster Declaration we are able to access additional resources from the State."

Early voting sites across the county saw minor flooding near the exterior walls, but all except two voting centers remained open. The polling place at Morgan's Point Resort was experiencing power outages early this morning and the one in the Temple ISD Administration Building also lost power at around 11 a.m., causing operations to be paused. 

County officials also asked that residents report any debris that is obstructing roadways to Bell County Emergency Management by calling them at 254-933-5598.