A rare tornado hit tiny Aumsville, Oregon at lunchtime on Tuesday, damaging or destroying half a dozen buildings, but initial reports say there were no injuries from the fluke twister.
"It is a mess," Aumsville Police clerk Patti Etherington, told Reuters, adding that at least four or five buildings had been destroyed.
A plumbing business directly across the street from City Hall "was completely demolished," she said.
Photos sent to local news stations show homes missing roofs, huge trees uprooted and downed power lines.
The Marion County Sheriff's office and nearby police and fire departments came to the scene to help Aumsville police and fire.
Power was shut off to the area while crews repaired downed lines and poles.
The city Website for Aumsville, which is near Salem, the state capital, puts the population at 3,050 as of 2003.
The high winds and storm that brought the tornado had earlier torn the roof off the Seahorse Oceanfront Motel in Lincoln City on the Oregon coast.
"Nobody was injured," Jim Kusz, public information officer for the North Lincoln Fire and Rescue said. "Nobody was staying in the second floor rooms," he said, and there was no other damage reported in the area.
Tornados are highly unusual in western Oregon. "I have never seen anything like this," Etherington said.
"It is a mess," Aumsville Police clerk Patti Etherington, told Reuters, adding that at least four or five buildings had been destroyed.
A plumbing business directly across the street from City Hall "was completely demolished," she said.
Photos sent to local news stations show homes missing roofs, huge trees uprooted and downed power lines.
The Marion County Sheriff's office and nearby police and fire departments came to the scene to help Aumsville police and fire.
Power was shut off to the area while crews repaired downed lines and poles.
The city Website for Aumsville, which is near Salem, the state capital, puts the population at 3,050 as of 2003.
The high winds and storm that brought the tornado had earlier torn the roof off the Seahorse Oceanfront Motel in Lincoln City on the Oregon coast.
"Nobody was injured," Jim Kusz, public information officer for the North Lincoln Fire and Rescue said. "Nobody was staying in the second floor rooms," he said, and there was no other damage reported in the area.
Tornados are highly unusual in western Oregon. "I have never seen anything like this," Etherington said.
