 Severe storms that blew through the region on the 4th of July caused scattered damage throughout the area, but drew a bullseye on the Yatesville Crossing Shopping Center in Louisa. Officials with the National Weather Service in Charleston are now saying that damage was in fact caused by a tornado. Walmart took the brunt of the storm, with winds blowing in the front door and overturning displays. In the parking lot, the damage was even worse, with cars flipped, trees and power poles snapped and a mobile storage unit tossed over the hillside. Vendors manning a fireworks tent on what was expected to be their busiest day of the year instead found themselves ducking for cover. They said the storm was a frightening experience. It was coming over the hill over here, and we thought it was a tornado, but so one said, no it's not a tornado, so we started putting our sides down, and the last time we know, the trailer was upside down and the tent blew away, as you see. It was like a lot of rain, and then the wind just picked up and you couldn't even see. It actually felt like ice hitting it, it was that hard, and then all of a sudden the wind was crazy. You can't see 5 feet from here. Louisa Mayor Harold Slums says the damage to Walmart will likely mean the store remains closed for some time. However, he was quick to point out that the incident could have been far worse. During times like this, you just take a minute, move back and thank me, we had no serious injuries, no loss of life, and obviously that's the most important thing. The Walmart officials are here and have responded with the fire department in a professional manner. I'm sure now we'll start the assessment phase and move on from there. Obviously I'm not a contractor, but there does appear to be quite a significant damage to the building. Mayor Slums said he had also heard reports of additional damage around Lawrence County, but those areas also had no reports of major injury. Reporting in Louisa for EKB News, I'm Ralph Davis.