Tornadoes spawned by Tropical Storm Debby leveled homes, damaged a school and killed one person early on Thursday, as the system dropped heavy rain and flooded communities across North and South Carolina.
It only took 15 seconds for a tornado to devastate Genesis Cooper’s home in Lucama, North Carolina, a small town about 40 miles (64km) east of Raleigh. He almost slept through it – if not for an alert on his wife’s phone.
Cooper, his wife and their 20-year-old son huddled in a bathroom with blankets. They felt vibrations and heard glass shattering before hearing a sudden boom.
“I can’t even describe it. It’s like, suction, that’s what it felt like,” Cooper said. “Like something is squeezing, like your ears are popping.”
The tornado was one of at least three reported overnight in North Carolina, and perhaps the most devastating. One person was found dead in a home damaged by the Lucama tornado, a Wilson county spokesperson, Stephen Mann, said in an email. No further details on the person were immediately provided.
Cooper said the tornado was so intense that the wind gusts dragged a large punching bag out of his son’s bedroom and flung it into the living room, knocking his son’s door off the hinges. Parts of the roof and walls of the house were torn off, causing water to leak inside. The side windows were busted out, and the backyard pool deck was damaged.
Despite it all, Cooper seemed to be calm, saying that he knew they were in God’s hands. “This is just stuff. It can be replaced,” Cooper said.
Theresa Richardson hunkered down with her husband and granddaughter in the closet of their Lucama home as the tornado tore through about a mile away.
Debris struck the house. They could hear the roof of nearby Springfield middle school being ripped off. Richardson said tornadoes have struck the area before, and her neighbors call the road they live on “tornado alley”.
The superintendent of Wilson county schools confirmed damage at Springfield middle school, where sections of the walls and roof of the sixth and seventh grade halls are gone or compromised.
“It was heartbreaking to see the school right after the event,” the superintendent, Lane Mills, said in a statement.
Drone footage showed portions of the school’s roof ripped off, exposing rafters and duct work. Windows were blown out. A section of wall had crumbled on to the soggy green lawn, which was strewn with twisted pieces of metal roof and shredded insulation.
The North Carolina governor, Roy Cooper, said at a briefing on Thursday that the state had activated more national guard troops and added additional vehicles that could rescue people in floods.
Cooper said his thoughts were with the man killed by the tornado and his family. The governor spoke at a national guard armory, where weather alarms could be heard going off behind him.
Meanwhile, about 100 miles (161km) south of Lucama, deputies in Bladenboro posted photos of a patrol car damaged by a fallen tree, as well as roads that had been washed out. Standing water a few feet deep covered parts of the tiny North Carolina town.
Townspeople had helped fill sandbags on Wednesday before up to 3ft (91cm) of floodwaters backed into the downtown overnight. When the sun came up, water could still be seen bubbling out of manhole covers.
Emily Dowless, who co-owns the furniture store Market on Main, said 20 neighbors and friends helped moved items from the store into trailers and up off the floor in anticipation of flooding. She said about 3in (8cm) of water made it inside the business.
“If the worst is over, that’s great,” she said.
Forrest Lennon, the owner of Diamond Dave’s Grill in Bladenboro, was counting his blessings even though 5in (13cm) of floodwater made its way into the restaurant. He and his wife have owned the place since September. The previous owner said 3ft of water inundated the building during the last two serious hurricanes, Matthew and Florence.
“It could have been a lot worse,” Lennon said, adding that they did everything they could to prepare for the storm.
“We just came in here and got everything we could as high as we could up off the ground … and we just left and prayed for the best,” he said.
Debby made a second landfall in South Carolina early on Thursday, the National Hurricane Center said. The first landfall was early on Monday on the Gulf Coast of Florida.
At least seven people have died due to the storm.
More flooding was expected in North and South Carolina. Up to 6 more inches (15cm) of rain could fall before Debby clears those states. Parts of Maryland, upstate New York and Vermont could get similar rainfall totals by the end of the weekend, the weather service said.
