Severe thunderstorm leaves damage, widespread outages across Coastal Bend

An overnight storm brought down power lines, ripped bricks off of buildings and left thousands in the Coastal Bend without electricity.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A severe thunderstorm that swept through the Coastal Bend overnight brought heavy wind gusts, widespread power outages and damage to homes and businesses across the region.

Firefighters and utility crews spent all day Monday responding to storm-related calls after strong winds left different types of damage throughout the area.

This story continues below.

Ronnie Vega, Firefighter and EMT with Nueces County ESD #2, said crews had been responding to emergencies since early morning hours.

“Going back to 2 a.m., the department has already been dispatched about 17 calls all over town,” Vega said.

Vega said the department typically responds to between five and eight calls on an average day. He said one of the biggest concerns after the storm has been electrical fire hazards caused by damaged power lines.

“We’ve gotten calls already for low hanging wires that are getting wrapped and caught into trees and bushes, and they’re actually starting fires in these trees,” Vega said. “And we’ve even gotten calls for some of these poles that are, you know, are basically ripped out of the ground.”

A Stripes gas station and convenience store remained closed throughout the day after a structure landed on the roof, causing damage that required electrical contractors to spend hours repairing power lines and removing debris.

In Flour Bluff, strong winds also tore bricks and wiring from the wall of an apartment building.

Neighbor Ronda Solis, who lives in the building next door, said the loud noise woke her up.

“It was about 3 a.m. and it sounded like a crash. And just like one big crash, but then things like you could hear things falling,” Solis said.

She said she did not realize the extent of the damage until later that morning.

“When I took the trash this morning, I was like, ‘Wow. That’s what I heard,’” Solis said.

Meanwhile, Assistant Chief Tony Perez with the Corpus Christi Fire Department said his crews had also been responding to storm-related calls since the severe weather began.

“I think our first alarm that came in was like 2 a.m. And it kinda didn’t stop and the house fire that we had was early this morning, like 6:30, 7:00 a.m., so it’s pretty much the entire night,” Perez said. “By 8:00 a.m., the winds had all kind of died down, but we’re still actively out there responding.”

Perez encouraged residents to address potentially dangerous trees and vegetation before hurricane season arrives.

“Keeping up with whatever vegetation that you have, whether that’s palm trees, you know, big oak trees, mesquite trees, if they look like they’re, you know, rotting or dying, I would pay to get them removed,” Perez said.

Both Perez and Vega said the storm should serve as a reminder for residents to prepare as hurricane season approaches.

“This was a small taste of what hurricane season can bring, so I think everybody should start taking advantage of preparing ahead of time,” Vega said.

In a statement posted to social media, AEP Texas said that at the height of the storm, about 29,300 customers across its service territory were without power, with most outages reported in the Corpus Christi area.

According to AEP Texas, estimated restoration times for those still without power are set for Monday at 6 p.m. in Aransas Pass and Northwest Corpus Christi, while customers in Corpus Christi’s Midtown and Southside areas are expected to have power restored by 11 p.m.