Tornado leaves trail of destruction in Wallace, severe weather damages business in Colly

CAPE FEAR, NC (WWAY) — Residents and business owners in Wallace are cleaning up after a tornado tore through the town Sunday afternoon, damaging homes, businesses and a church.

The tornado touched down early Sunday afternoon, causing significant damage near the intersection of Moore Town Road and Calico Bay Road.

A massive tree was uprooted, while a structure behind a home was ripped from its foundation and thrown more than 30 feet away.

Geraldina Carter described the destruction she witnessed as the storm moved through her neighborhood.

“I guess about 1 o’clock, 1:30, and it came through here, knocked all this down, the light poles and the building right here, came into my neighbors yards over here. The roof is gone on their house, his porch is blown in, and roof is gone on some of the houses down the street.”

Nearby resident Anisha Peterson recalled the frightening moments as the tornado hit.

“It was windy, windows busting out, house shaking, and everything was just everywhere. I was actually afraid to be even looking out the window actually to come outside. It was pouring down rain, pitch black, I never seen anything like it.”

On James Andrews Lane, residents Antonio Keith and Nevada Steel said the powerful winds blew a window-mounted air conditioning unit out of a home.

“When we just went back in, we just saw it, we just heard it coming out and basically like the window, basically the A/C just came out,” Keith said.

“In this area right here, it was in this general area where it came through and started acting,” Steel said. “I don’t know what it did but it came through with a bunch of wind and just blew everything away.”

The storm also caused damage near the intersection of Calico Bay and Horne roads, where Teachey Fire Department Captain Sutton described the tornado’s path toward Highway 117.

“Earlier today, we seen winds trying to come through, coming across Calico Bay and Horn Road, proceeding out to the end of the field, jumping over to Wallace and 117,” Sutton said. “To be honest with you, I feared for my life at first, because I live around a lot of pine trees so basically trying to take care.”

As the tornado moved east, it caused significant damage to several businesses along Highway 117.

Broken branches covered parking lots, a destroyed shed collapsed onto a vehicle, and windows were blown out. Several roadside signs were damaged, while roofing material from a nearby building was left hanging from power lines.

C.J. Dew, who works at Dew Automotive along Highway 117, said he was grateful no employees were working when the tornado struck.

“It would have been a shaky situation for sure if we were all here. Man, I don’t know man, I’m still trying to figure out what’s going on. It’s all material items. We’re just blessed to have what we have and we’ll go through this storm and come out stronger on the other side.”

On the eastern side of Highway 117, Awaken Church also sustained damage. Part of a roof landed on a tree, while another tree was split in half.

An associate pastor named Chad said Sunday’s sermon about building took on a new meaning following the destruction.

“She was talking about building with her and it’s amazing that she was talking about building and now we’re in that exact spot where we’re about to start building again. So I don’t know if that’s a prophetic thing but I know that’s what we’re about to do.”

While the full extent and estimated cost of the damage in Wallace remain unknown, no serious injuries were reported.

Severe weather also causes damage in Colly

Elsewhere in the Cape Fear region, strong winds caused damage at Tino’s Plants along NC-100 in Colly.

Multiple plants were knocked over as severe weather moved through the area Sunday afternoon.

The family operating the business told WWAY they had to run inside as heavy rain and strong winds swept through the property.

One family member described the conditions as windy and stormy, saying the severe weather eventually moved through the area. When asked whether she was scared, she responded, “Si,” meaning yes.

Residents and business owners across the affected areas are now assessing the damage and beginning cleanup efforts.