Damage Assessment, Clean Up Under Way in East Arlington Following Tuesday Night Tornado
City of Arlington crews and the National Weather Service are conducting damage assessments this morning following severe weather that affected some homes, businesses and at least four apartment complexes Tuesday night. The National Weather Service confirmed Wednesday afternoon that an EF2 tornado touched down in Arlington.
The City’s outdoor warning siren system was activated at about 9 p.m. due to a tornado warning that included parts of Arlington. Most of the damage is concentrated along Mayfield Road and Pioneer Parkway between Bowen Road to the west and State Highway 360 to the east. Several buildings suffered damage, including torn off roofs, partial structural collapses and broken windows.
Public Works and Transportation crews are clearing debris from streets, while Oncor and Atmos are working to restore power and natural gas to affected neighborhoods. The closure at Sherry Street and Park Row Drive is expected to reopen by 4 p.m., while the New York Avenue closure at Trent Drive may remain in place through this evening while crews work to remove downed electrical and communication lines.
The American Red Cross assisted families who were displaced by damage at the Waterdance Apartments, Mirage Apartments, Colorado Square Apartments and Garden Park Apartments in east Arlington. All displaced tenants have been relocated to other apartment units.
Three people who were transported to local hospitals with minor injuries Tuesday night have since been treated and released. Because of partial structure collapses, Arlington fire fighters were called to rescue some people from upper floors at apartment complex buildings as well as from vehicles at a restaurant drive-thru that were covered by fallen debris.
“Given the extent of the storm damage, we are very fortunate that we saw so few injuries,” said Assistant Fire Chief Jonathan Ingols. “Now we are working diligently to help our residents and businesses clean up and recover as quickly as possible.”
Clean up efforts are also under way. Residents are asked to contact the Arlington Action Center at 817-459-6777 to report storm damage.
Additionally, the City of Arlington will place dumpsters in the hardest hits areas to assist property owners with clean up. Residents can begin placing bundled fence panels, limbs and brush at their curbside for pick up.
The Arlington Independent School District continued its damage assessment Wednesday but said in a news release that it did not believe that any schools were directly affected by the storm.
Superintendent Dr. Marcelo Cavazos urges parents of Arlington ISD students who need help because of the storms to reach out to their campus principal or the Arlington ISD Student Outreach Services team at [email protected] for assistance.
If there is debris on your property:
• Tree limbs and fence panels will be picked up curbside on regular trash collection days at a rate of one cubic yard per service day until everything has been collected.
• Tree limbs and fence panels need to be cut into 4-foot or smaller sections and placed into bundles weighing no more than 50 lbs.
• Republic Services will pick up storm debris at a rate of 1 cubic yard per collection day and will continue to pick up as much as possible on subsequent collection days until all debris is gone.
• Shingles cannot be collected at the curb. If you are having your roof repaired, it is the responsibility of the contractor to haul and dispose of roofing shingles. You may also haul these directly to the Arlington landfill for free by using one of your three annual landfill coupons. You can also use your coupons to take debris straight to the Arlington landfill (800 Mosier Valley Road, Euless.) Please call the Action Center at 817-459-6777 before visiting the landfill to ensure your drivers license is correctly linked to your water bill account to prevent any issues redeeming your coupons at the scale house.
• For larger jobs, residents can contact Republic Services directly at 817-317-2000 to schedule a chipper service. Please be advised there is a fee for this service.
• Contractors should haul debris directly to the Arlington Landfill.
For repairs such as reroof, electrical, etc, Planning and Development Services department will offer expedited review on all permit applications. The applications are to be made online at ArlingtonPermits.com.
Click here for tips on choosing a contractor.
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