A vicious tornado ripped through a Pennsylvania town destroying a strip mall, downing trees, and violently flipping trucks over.
The powerful storm struck a shopping plaza late Wednesday night while the area was under a tornado warning.
The storm ripped the signs off storefronts of the Wyoming Valley Mall strip mall, shattered windows and doors, and scattered debris onto nearby streets and sidewalks, according to CBS.
A tornado’s damage: Pennsylvania city Wilkes-Barre was wrecked in a severe storm Wednesday evening that destroyed stores and flipped cars and trucks over
This America’s Best store was utterly destroyed with its roof ripped out and exterior battered as glass covers the parking lot
Wyoming Valley Mall strip mall suffered the greatest damage in the storm, with parts of the structure’s exterior destroyed, pictured Thursday after the tornado hit
A bird’s eye view: A wide shot of the damage reveals the destruction of buildings in the strip mall as roofs were completely ripped off, causing many stores to crumble within
Emergency responders look over the damage on Thursday after the evening storm hit, where debris from buildings landed on top of violently flipped over and smashed vehicles
The following day: Cars were smashed, overturned, and street signs pounded to the ground in the tornado’s wake
A parking lot of U-Haul trucks was destroyed in the tornado, with many of the vehicles flipped over and smashed in the storm
Closer look: Moving trucks were severely damaged in the storm, many of them with shattered windows and flipped sideways
This car was broken into bits, with its ends cut off as it was severely pounded by the strong winds and ended upside down
Cars were also flipped over and thrown on top of each other.
One eerie photo displays a U-Haul truck somehow thrown on top of another.
Only a ‘few minor injuries’ were reported in the storm according to Red Cross of Eastern Pennsylvania spokesman Dave Skutnik speaking to Weather.com.
Wilkes-Barre Township Police warned locals to avoid the area near Wyoming Valley Mall citing reports of ‘multiple collapsed buildings’.
A Panera Bread and Barnes and Noble in the strip mall suffered devastating damage in the tornado’s wake with their very signs ripped off, windows shattered, and some front walls collapsed.
Right after the storm: Wilkes-Barre was wrecked in a severe storm Wednesday evening destroying stores and flipping cars
The violent storm downed trees and power lines, collapsed structures and hanging wires pictured above after the tornado
The greatest damage was concentrated in Wyoming Valley Mall, debris pictured in parking lot right after the storm
Cars were overturned and damaged in the strong winds at the mall, which was pounded by the force of the storm, pictured above Wednesday night after the storm calmed
Employees of a PetSmart in the mall used personal vehicles to transport animals away from the area in wake of the storm
U-Haul trucks parked in Wilkes-Barre Township were tossed around in the severe winds, and in one bizarre instance thrown on top of each other as above
The Wyoming Valley Mall strip mall suffered the most damage, pictured above with destroyed storefronts where windows were broken, walls collapsed, and signs ripped off
Panera employee Bruno Isles was washing dishes at the back of the restaurant when the vicious tornado hit.
‘My manager had us secure the doors. We had tables and chairs flying through the windows,’ he said to the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader.
He added he suffered a minor scrape on his arm as he tried to evacuate customers in the restaurant to safety.
Pennsylvania senator Bob Casey warned residents to be safe on Twitter.
‘Please heed the warnings and follow the directions of local officials’,’ he tweeted Wednesday evening.
National Weather Investigators will assess the damage Thursday.
A Panera Bread at the mall suffered extensive damage in the tornado where its sign was ripped off and front windows broken
Police warned locals to avoid the strip mall area that sustained the most damage in the storm, hanging signs above
The tornado dented this furniture warehouse as it wreaked havoc in the strip mall Wednesday, leaving debris in its wake
Emergency services arrived on the scene after the damage, an overturned car pictured above, only minor injuries reported