HARDIN COUNTY, Texas — Southeast Texans spent Sunday assessing damage left behind from severe storms that ripped through the area Saturday night.
From lightening strikes to trees crashing through living rooms, many residents are still without power.
Michael Phelps has lived in his Lumberton home for 30 years and says when he walked in his living room, he saw a sight he's never seen before.
"I hear bad thunder, shook my whole house. I get up just to check things out," he said.
His neighbor's pine tree was just feet away from his wife's head as she slept on the couch.
"We got lucky. If it had broke off 10 feet above the ground, it could have been way worse. Could have cost her her life," Phelps said.
30 minutes away in Port Arthur, fire crews responded to Sherwood Forest Apartments.
"There was a wall on one side and a wall on the other side and inside there was Styrofoam which caught fire where the lightening struck," said Apartment Manager Adil Mukhtiar.
He says he's beyond thankful for the quick response.
"We have to tear the wall out take everything out for health purposes. You can't live here," Mukhtiar said.
The two families that had been living there had to be moved. One family was moved to another unit and the other to the office.
Mukhtiar says cleanup will take time, but he's grateful nobody was hurt.
"That's the good thing. The building we can manage and serve it, but if a life got taken, it would be irreplaceable," he said.
Hardin County Judge Wayne McDaniel has issued a Disaster Declaration as a result of storm damage.
He and other county officials are urging residents and business owners to self-report damage to their properties here.
The Beaumont Office of Emergency Management Office is encouraging all city and Jefferson County residents to self-report any damages to their homes and businesses using the QR code pictured below or here.
