Tornado Tears Down Texas Department Store Roof

Aug. 19, 2009 -- An unexpected tornado tore through the southwestern Texas town of Beaumont Tuesday, destroying the roof of a department store, flipping cars and stunning residents.

The storm touched down at around 2 p.m., hitting a local shopping center. Winds topped 110 miles per hour, leaving a trail of destruction half a mile long. Cars were thrown on top of each other, bricks were stripped from exterior wall, and chunks of metal and debris were littered around the parking lot.

The roof of a Kohl's department store collapsed on top of frightened shoppers.

"The roof came off in the corner and the water pipe broke, so about half the store is flooded right now," said resident Sarah Irving.

At least 10 people were treated for minor cuts and scrapes, mostly from flying debris.

"We had a lot of potential for a lot of injuries, and we were just lucky and fortunate," said Lt. Ray Beck of the Beaumont Police Department.

"When you get daytime heating, it often fires up these thunderstorms and a lot of times they can spin these small funnels that occasionally can touch down," Montra Lockwood, from the National Weather Service, explained.

Lockwood told ABC News affiliate KBMT in Beaumont that the tornado skipped past a Wal-Mart before finally hitting the Parkdale Mall shopping area.

Judy Slate was working at a Lowes home improvement store across the highway from Kohl's when the storm hit.

"We were all busy working when power went out," she told The Associated Press. "It was raining really hard and the wind was really blowing."

In the aftermath of the storm, retailers now face a race to clean up and re-open as school starts in Beaumont next week.