Gov. Greg Abbott said the state is standing "shoulder to shoulder" with the residents of Williamson County after severe weather damaged multiple homes and businesses Monday.
"We know that you have faced a devastating storm — can even label it storms — with multiple tornadoes ripping through Williamson County alone," Abbott said at a news conference with County Judge Bill Gravell.
Officials say no major injuries have been reported.
Abbott said the state will help the county in its recovery and that people who have suffered property damage should use the state’s assessment tool to report it.
Gravell said the county could not quantify the damage until daylight and that he would likely issue an emergency declaration. The National Weather Service said it would be surveying damage from the storms Tuesday morning.
He said two tornadoes were confirmed in Williamson County, but that number could rise. One tornado began in Round Rock, passing in front of the Kalahari Resort and damaging some cars. He said the tornado then traveled up toward Granger, touching down at different times.
A second tornado hit northwest of Jarrell, he said, damaging some homes and other buildings.
Gravell said electricity would be shut off Monday night from Round Rock to the eastern part of the county to protect first responders fixing downed power lines.
Emergency management staff, Red Cross personnel and church volunteers plan to go out across the county Tuesday to assess damage and “put our county back the way that it was," he said.
