Columbus County family assesses damage after a tornado
COLUMBUS COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — Severe weather swept through the Cape Fear region over the weekend, spawning two tornadoes in southeastern North Carolina and damaging properties in Columbus and Duplin counties.
In Columbus County, a tornado touched down on a farm in Chadbourn, destroying several barns and storage buildings. The property owners are now assessing the damage, grateful that their home was spared and everyone is safe.
“I mean, it sounded like our house got ripped apart,” said Sarah McPherson, whose family owns the property.
A day after the tornado hit, McPherson and her family were left surveying the rubble where several structures once stood.
“This is one of our buildings here at the warehouse; there’s actually two here, and there’s another building back there as well. We own this warehouse, that property, and all the farm as well as the house in the back, and the shed that got blown over there as well,” said McPherson.
Although several storage structures were destroyed, the family’s main warehouse remained standing.
“The first thing we said is ‘Is the warehouse here?’ because all of our stuff to make money is in the warehouse, and luckily that was still standing,” said McPherson.
McPherson said the warehouse was especially important because it holds the equipment and supplies the family relies on to make a living.
Despite the damage, she said the family is thankful the storm did not cause greater destruction.
“Thank God, he protected us. Our house is pretty much not damaged at all, and we are all safe and, I mean, it hit our property; from what we hear, no other properties were damaged, so, no injuries, you couldn’t have asked for anything more,” said McPherson.
The Columbus County tornado was one of two reported in the Cape Fear region Sunday. The second touched down in Wallace, where several homes sustained significant damage and windows were blown out at Awaken Church.
Adam Weiner with the National Weather Service in Wilmington said tornadoes are not uncommon in the Southeast, and Sunday’s weather conditions created a favorable environment for them to develop.
“One, the waters are quite warm still, but also the remnants of really any PC’s or really any tropical system, especially if they’re passing to our Northwest, or to our West, brings almost more favorable environment with the warm, moist air coming off the ocean and the spinning winds in that Northeast quadrant of a system,” said Weiner.
The National Weather Service rated the Columbus County tornado an EF0, with estimated winds of up to 80 mph.
As the family begins the recovery process, McPherson said they must decide whether to rebuild the damaged structures or clear away the remaining debris and start fresh.
