Sunset Beach, North Carolina – At least three people were killed when a possible tornado fell in Brunswick County before midnight, leaving a trail of damage.
The Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office said the tornado fell in the Seaside Road and U.S. Highway 17 area between 11:30 p.m. Monday and 12:00 p.m.
More than 50 homes were damaged, most in the Ocean Ridge Plantation neighborhood on Ocean Isle Beach, where all three were reported dead and at least 10 injured.
“I saw devastation I hadn’t seen in many years,” Randy Thompson, chairman of the Brunswick County Board of Commissioners, said during a press conference at noon. “It really was a disaster last night.”
Edward Conrow, director of emergency services for Brunswick County, said search and rescue efforts ended Tuesday morning and officials were conducting damage assessments.
Damage reports also included gas leaks, damaged commercial buildings and trees and downed power lines along U.S. 17 and Old Shallotte Road, Conrow said.
The National Weather Service confirmed that the disturbance was an EF-3 tornado with winds of up to 160 mph. The tornado cut a path through Brunswick County and up to Columbus County.
The tornado was particularly dangerous because a lot of people were asleep when the storm came and they didn’t have time to prepare, Conrow said.
“We had a minimum warning,” he said, noting that the storm was already on the ground when the Meteorological Service alerted local authorities. “[Weather Service meteorologists] they were amazed at how quickly this storm intensified. That’s something they don’t normally see. “
Kate Gentle, a resident of Brunswick County, lives five minutes from where the tornado touched, she told WRAL News that she had spent Monday evening at her son’s lacrosse game and had no idea there would be a storm .
According to Gentle, when the family got home, they experienced strong, regular thunder and lightning. Then, Gentle said, everything fell silent. He put his children in a closet and just before the tornado warning came.
“You could say something wasn’t right,” he said.
Gentle’s family and home fled the damage, but she said she was “heartbroken” by people in her community who were not so lucky.
The Rev. Dwight Reeves, pastor of Seaside Christian Fellowship, found the ripped roof of his church Tuesday morning.
“It changes lives,” Reeves said about the storm. “You know things like this happen in life, but never expect it to show up at your door this time. We always see other people with destruction in the neighborhood. Now, to see it, I have more compassion for these people.”
Church member Scott Blackmon went to help clean up Tuesday morning after escaping unharmed overnight.
“The wind and thunder increased with lightning and we lost power,” said Blackmon, who lives less than a mile from the church. “We heard the roar and we literally jumped into the tub like it feels on TV.”
Sheriff John Ingram asked people who don’t own or don’t assist victims to avoid the area while crews work to clean the streets.
Conrow said the sheriff’s office would establish access points to keep non-residents out of the Ocean Ridge area.
Corey Thurlow, with Brunswick Electric Membership Corp., said the force of the storm caused extensive damage to the county’s transmission system by tearing down poles and trees and impacting about 35,000 customers at their peak.
Power was restored to about 10,000 members before two in the morning, Thurlow said, but there will be some interruptions until Tuesday afternoon.
“Our priority is to restore energy to all our members in our service area as quickly and safely as possible,” Thurlow said. “Our thoughts are on people who have suffered losses as a result of these storms.”
According to the U.S. Census, it is estimated that approximately 140,000 people would reside in Brunswick County in 2019.
The storm is part of the largest weather system bringing brutally cold temperatures to much of the United States, including a paralyzing ice storm that has walled up Texas, causing massive power outages.