Several sports facilities on the Louisiana Tech campus suffered damage overnight from a storm linked to the deaths of at least five people in two states.
As a tornado tore through Ruston, Louisiana, early Thursday, two people were killed when a tree fell on their home, officials said. No injuries have been reported among Louisiana Tech students.
The school's campus is closed Thursday and Friday, and the athletics department's Twitter account shared photos of damage to the tennis courts and baseball, softball and soccer fields.
Our student-athletes and student body are safe, which is our main concern.
— LA Tech Sports (@LATechSports) April 25, 2019
We are still in shock over the devastation to our city and our campus.
Thank you to everyone for the thoughts and prayers. We are still assessing the damage our facilities, but we CAN and WILL rebuild. pic.twitter.com/PMzwXqe7dk
In a pair of tweets, athletic director Tommy McClelland also noted the impact on the track and field facility, calling the overall damage to the facilities "severe."
The tornado caused damage to buildings, vehicles, power lines and trees in Ruston. Mayor Ronny Walker said trees uprooted by the winds "cut houses in half," calling the damage "unbelievable."
National Weather Service hydrologist C. S. Ross said it appears the tornado cut a track over 130 miles from eastern Texas to near the Louisiana-Arkansas border.
The severe weather system pounded Texas with rain Wednesday, killing a woman and her two children whose vehicle was caught in flash flood waters.