DILLON -- More than $300,000 in damage was reported in Dillon County the morning after a line of severe thunderstorms moved through the Pee Dee, Dillon County Emergency Preparedness director Robert Abson said.
Most of the reported damage was confined to the Riverdale Area- specifically Pee Dee Church Road, Pleasant Hill Road and a portion of S.C. 9 -- which are all in the eastern part of the county, he said.
The storms moved through the area at about 12:55 a.m. Saturday.
"I think it really caught a lot of people off guard. I think a lot of people went to bed last night it was just rainy. No one really anticipated it was going to be this bad," Stacy Jones, American Red Cross director of disaster services of the Pee Dee Region said.
Officials from the National Weather Service were unable to get a damage-assessment team into the area before dark, but officials did speak with Dillon County emergency officials Saturday and determined that it was likely a tornado that caused the damage.
Authorities haven’t determined how strong the winds were inside the tornado.
"I don't know too much I could have done to prepare for this," Appleton Court resident Chris Herring said.
Saturday morning Herring and friends picked through the devastation that was the home he shared with his mother and sister.
"I woke up with the ceiling on top of me. Everything just came down. I thought maybe a tree had hit my room or something," Herring said.
Herring thought the damage was contained to his bedroom, but his mother and sister were in the same situation.
"This kind of stuff (insulation) fell down on them," Herring said.
Herring was philosophical about the damage.
"This is just stuff. You can buy more stuff. Everybody made it through so praise the Lord," Herring said.
Three mobile homes and two houses were destroyed during the storm, according to an emergency preparedness assessment.
Two barns or outbuildings were also destroyed, he said.
Eight additional dwellings had minor damage along with three churches and three barns, Abson said.
Emergency management officials have been working with the Red Cross to assist those who were left homeless by the storm.
Linda Boone-Smith, executive director of the Pee Dee Chapter of the Red Cross, said the agency provided assistance to 14 people from five Dillon County families.
The families were provided with food, shelter and clothing and comfort kits, she said.
“A comfort kit is ... things you might need immediately like toiletries. We also do one for children that have a small toy,” she said.
No shelters were opened in the area because arrangements have already been made for the families, she said.
“We are trying to see what people need,” Boone-Smith said. “We want people to contact us if their homes have been damaged.”
Anyone interested in donating to the Dillon families can call the Pee Chapter at 1-800-273-3073 or, mail a donation to 1601 A W. Lucas St. Florence S.C. 29505.
— News13 meteorologist Melissa Hoeman contributed to this report.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement