KITSAP COUNTY, WA — Port Orchard, Washington is in shambles after a rare tornado ripped through the county Tuesday afternoon. About 50 buildings, including homes, were affected by the powerful winter storm on Dec. 18.
The Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office called the devastation “catastrophic,” affecting neighborhoods east and south of a Walmart in Port Orchard, a town only 15 miles from Seattle. Several toppled trees damaged power lines and caused some road closures in the area.
A National Weather Service storm damage survey team will be heading to the devastated town in Washington to assess more, The Associated Press reported. Below is a round up of photos showing the aftermath of the twister.
See photos of the rare twister in Washington State below:
Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2018
A worker clears debris at Salmonberry Dry Storage in Port Orchard, Washington. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Melinda St. John, left, helps her niece, Jasmin Mueller, 16, lower right, recover valuables from the living room of a house owned by St. John’s sister Beth Mueller, in Port Orchard, Washington, the day after a tornado took the roof off the house and caused other damage . St. John said that no one was at the house during the storm, and that all of the family pets survived. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
A worker trims branches from a tree that toppled over at a home in Port Orchard, Washington in a neighborhood that suffered heavy damage Tuesday when a tornado touched down in the area. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
People stand in front of a damaged home in Port Orchard, Washington the day after a tornado caused heavy damage in the area Tuesday. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Workers cut limbs from a downed tree in Port Orchard, Washington where a tornado touched down. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
People walk through debris at Salmonberry Dry Storage in Port Orchard, Washington, where a tornado touched down Tuesday. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
A pedestrian walks with an umbrella near a damaged business in Port Orchard, Washington where a tornado touched down Tuesday. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
A notice that a home is unsafe to occupy is shown posted at a home in Port Orchard, Washington, that suffered heavy damage Tuesday when a tornado touched down in the area. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Workers cut trees that fell on a business in Port Orchard, Washington where a tornado touched down Tuesday. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Uprooted trees are shown Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2018, on the roof of a home in Port Orchard, Washington, the day after a tornado caused heavy damage in the area. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
A worker uses a chainsaw to cut a tree that fell on a home in Port Orchard, Washington where a tornado touched down Tuesday. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2018
Residents and emergency personnel on Harris Road in Port Orchard, Washington, after a tornado touched down. (Larry Steagall/Kitsap Sun via AP)
A home that was damaged near the Walmart in Port Orchard, Washington after a rare tornado touched down. (Larry Steagall/Kitsap Sun via AP)
Matt Hargis walks through downed trees behind the Walmart in Port Orchard, Washington. (Larry Steagall/Kitsap Sun via AP)
Emergency responders huddle on Harris Road to map out the response in Port Orchard, Washington after a tornado touched down. Larry Steagall/Kitsap Sun via AP)
Residents evacuate from their homes on Harris Road in Port Orchard, Washington as damage from the tornado can be seen around them. (Larry Steagall/Kitsap Sun via AP)
A roof strut sticks up out of a yard on Plymouth Way after a tornado touched down in Port Orchard, Washington. (Larry Steagall/Kitsap Sun via AP)
Lead image by Larry Steagall/Kitsap Sun via AP. Information sourced from The AP.