A 56-unit apartment building on the North Side was evacuated this morning after a tornado ripped off part of its roof.
A tornado touched down just before 8 a.m. near Hausman Road, south of the University of Texas at San Antonio’s main campus, according to the National Weather Service.
City crews had to shut off electricity and water for one building at the Oasis San Antonio on UTSA Boulevard while damages were assessed and repaired, city officials said during a news conference Wednesday afternoon. It’s unclear when tenants will be able to return to their apartments or how many people lived in the damaged building.
A large portion of the roof was torn off above three units on the building’s fourth floor, San Antonio Fire Chief Valerie Frausto said. It is unclear how many people lived in the building. Fifty-two of the building’s 56 units were leased.
About a dozen University of Texas at San Antonio students were among those displaced, UTSA police chief Stephanie Schoenborn said.
Frausto said tenants’ belongings have been covered to protect them from rain.
No injuries have been reported.
The city’s Development Services Department is working to assess the structural integrity of the building.
The Tribute at The Rim, an apartment complex at 5810 Worth Pkwy, was also hit. Frausto said no residents were in the building because it was closed for construction, but it sustained damage to the scaffolding.
City Manager Erik Walsh said city crews are assessing the damage and removing downed limbs and other debris as far south as De Zavala and Hausman roads and as far north as The Rim shopping center.
Residents can call call 311 to get help clearing debris from public roadways.
Northside Councilwoman Ivalis Meza Gonzalez said several neighborhoods and areas around UTSA, Camp Bullis, Crownridge, and the Dominion sustained “significant damage” as the tornado passed through.
“We are focused on damage assessment and cleanup and making sure that people are aware of the weather,” Walsh said.
Early this morning, storms knocked out power to as many as 18,000 CPS Energy customers, said the utility’s interim CEO and president, Frank Conraz. That number has since dropped to just over 200 customers as of 1:40 p.m.
Some businesses on the North Side have closed to deal with storm damages as rain continues to overwhelm the city.
Santikos Palladium is closed Wednesday due to storm damage, Santikos Entertainment announced on social media. Debris was scattered outside the front entrance and tree branches were strewn across the parking lot.
Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Hurricane Harbor will be closed Wednesday because the storm “interrupted the park’s power supply,” spokesperson Cyle Perez said in a statement. There was no structural damages or injuries.