\n\t\t\t\t\t\tMore than 100 homes were damaged Monday afternoon after a tornado ripped through Harris County, Texas, Constable Mark Herman said in a Facebook post.No serious injuries or deaths have been reported after the storm, said Brian Murray, spokesperson for the Harris County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.Earlier, authorities were combing through the debris searching for residents who may have been trapped or injured after the storm passed.The National Weather Service has confirmed a tornado struck the county, but has yet to rate the storm\u2019s intensity.Severe storms developed in the Houston area on Monday afternoon, where warm temperatures were in place ahead of a cold front. An unstable atmosphere combined with wind shear produced supercell thunderstorms, which resulted in several tornado reports.The constable called the storm a \u201csevere weather event\u201d that caused \u201cwidespread and significant damage.\u201dTrees ‘snapped like toothpicks’The Harris County Emergency Services campus was also in the path of the tornado, and it ripped the roof and back wall off a maintenance building, spokesperson Miranda Sevcik told reporters at the scene.Two men were working in the building at the time and one held on to a rack, while the other ducked under a table as the tornado touched down, Sevcik said.\u201cYou can imagine how terrified they were, but they were just fine at the end of it,\u201d she said.No one on the campus was injured, she added.Large tree trunks on the campus \u201csnapped like toothpicks\u201d during the twister, Sevcik said.She was in another building when the tornado tore through and was told to go to the designated area for severe weather.\u201cWhat sounded like hail turned out to just be the shutters dropping, and then all of a sudden, you could feel the pressure drop, and then it just got really, really quiet,\u201d Sevcik described. \u201cIt went by very, very fast. And then we opened the doors, thankfully \u2026and we saw the damage. We\u2019re like, \u2018oh, my gosh,\u2019 just like matchsticks.\u201dFootage captures magnitude of destructionDrone video of the destruction revealed the extent of the damage, which included torn-off rooftops and debris strewn across yards and pools.See the video in the media player at the topPhotos posted by the Cy-Fair Fire Department also showed shattered windows, broken fences, damaged roofs, and debris scattered through the area.Residents are urged to avoid traveling if possible, as there is widespread debris and downed power lines in the impacted neighborhoods, Harris County officials said in another post.\u201cOur priority is the safety of our residents,\u201d Herman said a post. \u201cWe are using every resource available to locate the injured, secure the area, and support our community through this emergency.\u201dStorm Prediction Center has issued a tornado watch until 1 a.m. CT for much of eastern Texas, including Houston. The watch also extends into portions of western and central Louisiana.___CNN\u2019s Briana Waxman contributed to this report.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
More than 100 homes were damaged Monday afternoon after a tornado ripped through Harris County, Texas, Constable Mark Herman said in a Facebook post<\/a>.<\/p>\n No serious injuries or deaths have been reported after the storm, said Brian Murray, spokesperson for the Harris County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.<\/p>\n Earlier, authorities were combing through the debris searching for residents who may have been trapped or injured after the storm passed.<\/p>\n The National Weather Service has confirmed a tornado struck the county, but has yet to rate the storm\u2019s intensity.<\/p>\n Severe storms developed in the Houston area on Monday afternoon, where warm temperatures were in place ahead of a cold front. An unstable atmosphere combined with wind shear produced supercell thunderstorms, which resulted in several tornado reports.<\/p>\n The constable called<\/a> the storm a \u201csevere weather event\u201d that caused \u201cwidespread and significant damage.\u201d<\/p>\n Trees ‘snapped like toothpicks’<\/p>\n The Harris County Emergency Services campus was also in the path of the tornado, and it ripped the roof and back wall off a maintenance building, spokesperson Miranda Sevcik told reporters at the scene.<\/p>\n Two men were working in the building at the time and one held on to a rack, while the other ducked under a table as the tornado touched down, Sevcik said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can imagine how terrified they were, but they were just fine at the end of it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n No one on the campus was injured, she added.<\/p>\n Large tree trunks on the campus \u201csnapped like toothpicks\u201d during the twister, Sevcik said.<\/p>\n She was in another building when the tornado tore through and was told to go to the designated area for severe weather.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat sounded like hail turned out to just be the shutters dropping, and then all of a sudden, you could feel the pressure drop, and then it just got really, really quiet,\u201d Sevcik described. \u201cIt went by very, very fast. And then we opened the doors, thankfully \u2026and we saw the damage. We\u2019re like, \u2018oh, my gosh,\u2019 just like matchsticks.\u201d<\/p>\n Footage captures magnitude of destruction<\/p>\n