CNN
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Emergency responders in the Houston area say they are responding to reports of damage and stranded motorists after a possible tornado moved through the area.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Department is “responding to a high number of stranded motorists,” Sheriff Ed Gonzalez tweeted. The department had prepared its high-water rescue vehicles ahead of the storm, he said.
The police department in Pasadena about 15 miles southeast of downtown Houston said it was “aware of a tornado touching down on the south east side of our city,”
There have been reports of “several commercial trucks overturned” near Beltway 8, the beltway around the city of Houston, the department said, and some power lines were reported to be down.
“Our officers and Fire Department are working towards assisting those people with who were immediately affected,” the department tweeted.
A tornado emergency was declared earlier Tuesday for the southeastern metro area of Houston where “a confirmed large and destructive tornado was observed over northwestern Pasadena, moving northeast at 60 mph,” according to the National Weather Service in Houston.
Other locations in the path of this tornado included Deer Park, Baytown, Highlands and Channelview, according to the weather service.