Couple killed after storms, EF3 tornado roll through the Midlands, officials say
Two people were killed after powerful storms that included multiple tornadoes rolled through the Midlands early Monday morning.
The storm-related deaths occurred in Orangeburg County, Emergency Services Director Billy Staley told The State.
The people were identified as a married couple, Gerald and Doris Chavis, Orangeburg County Coroner Samuetta Marshall told The State.
The 63-year-old man and his 68-year-old wife suffered blunt force trauma when their mobile home was picked up by the storm and crashed back to the ground, Marshall said.
The National Weather Service later confirmed the deaths were caused by an EF3 tornado with wind speeds up to 140 mph.
Marshall said these were the only storm-related deaths the coroner’s office responded to on Monday.
In addition to the fatalities, there were several injuries reported, according to Staley.
Information on how many people were injured was not available, but Staley described them as both serious and traumatic.
Crews from the National Weather Service are in Orangeburg County to determine if the powerful storms that struck the county included a tornado. The weather service has confirmed tornadoes hit Aiken and Barnwell counties.
Regardless of classification, the severe weather left a wide swath of damage that covered several miles, according to Staley.
He said emergency responders are still searching the damaged areas to make sure everyone is accounted for and no one is missing. That area includes personal property and mobile homes that were destroyed in the storm, Staley said.
The NWS confirmed a tornado hit neighboring Aiken County, Aiken County Emergency Management Director Paul Matthews told The State.
Unlike Orangeburg County, Matthews said only minor injuries were reported in Aiken County, and no one needed to be hospitalized.
Tornadoes were also confirmed in other neighboring counties.
At 5:55 a.m., a “large and extremely dangerous tornado” was located 10 miles north of Blackville in Barnwell County, according to the NWS. It also reported another tornado in Barnwell County, just southwest of Williston, at about 5:40 a.m.
The weather service also said a “large and extremely dangerous tornado” was located near Bamberg, about 15 miles from Blackville.
The Orangeburg County fatalities were not the only storm-related deaths in South Carolina on Monday.
Hampton County emergency management director Susanne Peeples said five people were killed when a tornado touched down, the Island Packet reported.
One person in the Upstate died during the severe weather, according to Oconee County coroner Karl Addis. A 77-year-old security guard at the Borg Warner Plant near Seneca suffered blunt force traumatic injuries when the guard building where he was stationed collapses at about 3:30 a.m., Addis said in a news release.
“Our hearts go out to those affected by the storms yesterday and last night,” the NWS tweeted.
This story was originally published April 13, 2020 at 1:07 PM with the headline "Couple killed after storms, EF3 tornado roll through the Midlands, officials say."
