Multiple deaths reported after strong storms with tornadoes ravage South Carolina
Severe storms that spawned tornadoes tore across South Carolina early Monday, reportedly killing at least nine people.
The powerful storms damaged homes and businesses, made roads impassable, left thousands without power and even flipped small airplanes in one county.
Deaths were reported in Hampton, Orangeburg, Colleton and Oconee counties.
Five people died in Hampton County when a tornado moved through, emergency management officials said.
A tornado touched down in the area around 6:35 a.m., according to the National Weather Service.
Officials said the twister moved toward Colleton County, where one person was killed, WLTX reported.
In Orangeburg County, the sheriff’s office said two people were killed and two others were badly injured by storms. Sheriff Leroy Ravenell told local station WIS-TV the residents were in a home that was lifted by heavy winds and carried several yards across the highway.
In upstate South Carolina, a 77-year-old security guard died when storms caused the building he was working in to collapse, the Oconee County Coroner’s Office said.
Jack F. Harvill of Walhalla was working for American Security at the Borg Warner Plant in Seneca, according to the coroner’s office. He died from “blunt force traumatic injuries” when the building collapsed about 3:30 a.m.
Meteorologists at local station WYFF say a large twister touched down in the Seneca area around 3:35 a.m.
Deadly storms have wreaked havoc across the South since Easter Sunday, killing at least 30 people, the Washington Post reported.
A 61-year-old woman in North Carolina died when a tree fell on her home Monday, Fox8 reported.
At least eight people died in Georgia as stormed moved through the state, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
The damage
Early reports of damage and tornadoes in South Carolina span several counties.
Just before 8 a.m., debris in the air was reported near Moncks Corner in Berkeley County, but officials have not yet confirmed a tornado in the area. Significant damage was reported.
Not long after, the NWS reported a tornado was likely on the ground near Edisto Beach in Colleton County.
Hampton County EMS posted on Facebook that roads were covered with downed power lines and trees, warning residents not to cross downed electrical lines.
The NWS also reported numerous downed trees and power lines along with damage believed to be from a tornado to several structures near Walterboro.
Officials in Colleton County also reported damage, saying they were removing debris from homes and roadways. They posted photos to Facebook of snapped trees laying across roadways and an overturned airplane, presumably at the Lowcountry Regional Airport.
South Carolina Highway Patrol reported a detour on southbound I-95 due to an overturned tractor trailer and several downed trees.
Seneca in Oconee County was hit hard by storms. WYFF chief meteorologist Chris Justus said some areas saw winds in excess of 100 mph and extensive damage to homes and businesses.
The National Weather Service at Greenville-Spartanburg confirmed an early morning tornado using “radar images of signature damage,” according to The Greenville News.
“The main area to be surveyed will be centered around the most significant damage in the Seneca area of Oconee County in South Carolina,” the NWS said in a statement. “The surveys will also likely include damage locations in Habersham and Stephens county in Northeast Georgia and also other locations in Oconee, Pickens and Northern Greenville.
Jay Merritt, Emergency Services Director for Greenville County, told the Greenville News on Monday that the area was largely spared by the violent storms and only suffered a few downed trees. Radar images of the damage in Northern Greenville County suggest a possible tornado touched down, however.
NWS officials are scheduled to survey that area as well.
The final results of the survey are expected by 5 p.m. Monday.
This story was originally published April 13, 2020 at 11:53 AM.