LUCAMA, N.C. (AP) — Tornadoes spawned by Tropical Storm Debby flattened homes, damaged a school and killed one person early Thursday as the system dumped heavy rain and flooded communities in North and South Carolina.
It took just 15 seconds for a tornado to devastate Genesis Cooper’s home in Lucama, North Carolina, a small town about 40 miles (64 kilometers) east of Raleigh. He was nearly caught sleeping, had it not been for an alert on his wife’s phone.
The 51-year-old man, his wife and their 20-year-old son huddled with blankets in the bathroom in the middle of the house. They felt vibrations and heard glass breaking before hearing a sudden bang.
“I can’t even describe it. It’s like suction, that’s what it feels like,” Cooper said. “Like something’s squeezing you, 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, Wilson County spokesman Stephen Mann said in an email. No further details about the deceased were immediately available. Cooper said the tornado was so intense that wind gusts blew a large punching bag out of her son’s bedroom and into the living room, knocking down her son’s door. Parts of the roof and walls of her home were torn off, causing water to leak inside. Side windows were broken and the pool deck in the back was in ruins.
Despite everything, Cooper seemed calm.
“These are just things. They can be replaced,” Cooper said.
Theresa Richardson huddled with her husband and granddaughter in the closet of their Lucama home as the tornado passed about a mile away.
Debris hit the house. And all three could hear the roof of Springfield High School falling off.
Richardson said this was not the first time the area had been hit by a tornado: Her neighbors call the street she lives on “Tornado Alley.”
The Wilson County school superintendent confirmed the damage at Springfield Middle School, where parts of the walls and ceiling in the sixth- and seventh-grade hallways were missing or damaged.
“It was heartbreaking to see the school right after the event,” Superintendent Lane Mills said in a statement.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said at a briefing Thursday that state officials have activated more National Guard troops and added more vehicles to rescue people trapped in floodwaters as Debby’s rains continue to drench the state.
About 100 miles south of Lucama, Bladenboro police posted photos of a patrol vehicle damaged by a tree and flooded roads. Standing water several inches deep covered parts of the small North Carolina town.
Many of the town’s residents helped fill sandbags on Wednesday before up to 3 feet (90 centimeters) of floodwaters built up in the town center overnight. When the sun came up, water could still be seen pouring from manhole covers.
Emily Dowless, co-owner of the Market on Main furniture store, said 20 neighbors and friends helped move items from the store onto trailers and off the ground in anticipation of flooding. She said about 3 inches (8 centimeters) of water entered the business.
“If the worst is over, that’s great,” he said. “But again, we’re expecting more rain, so we’re going to ignore it. We need to make sure we support each other and that everything is OK.”
The National Hurricane Center said Debby made a second landfall early Thursday near Bulls Bay, South Carolina, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northeast of Charleston. Debby made its first landfall as a Category 1 hurricane early Monday on Florida’s Gulf Coast.
Debby could also spawn more tornadoes Thursday in parts of North Carolina and Virginia, forecasters warned. The storm was expected to hit the country’s East Coast, where residents in northern Vermont could get several inches of rain over the weekend.
A state of emergency was in effect for both North Carolina and Virginia. Maryland issued a state of preparedness declaration that coordinates preparations without declaring an emergency.
In total, at least seven people have died due to the storm.
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Associated Press contributors Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina; Jeff Martin in Atlanta and freelance photographer Mic Smith in Isle of Palms, South Carolina, contributed to this report.
