National Weather Service confirms EF-1 tornado in Columbus County

COLUMBUS COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — The National Weather Service confirms an EF-1 tornado touched down this afternoon in Columbus County. It happened around 4:15 p.m. near Bolton. The NWS sent an official survey team to the area Thursday to verify.

One home near US 74/76 and NC 214 was destroyed, along with tree limbs down on cars and power lines and about 1,000 people without power in eastern Columbus County in the immediate aftermath of the strong line of storms that moved across eastern North Carolina late this afternoon.

“When I see the dark everything was gone,” said Elmer Gonzalez.

12 year old Gonzalez was the only person home when the tornado hit their home off of Highway 74.

“I don’t know, I was calling all my family to come for me because I was so scared,” Gonzalez said, still trembling hours later.

His family did come for him and to pick up their belongings, whatever they could carry. Gonzalez’s grandma owns the house.

“The little boy was all by himself and she could only pray to god,” she told us through a translator.

Luckily her grandson is ok. He was in the only part of her house left standing.

Ruthlene Freeman lives just a few houses down the street. She heard the noise and jumped straight in her closet.

“I kept coming down the road and it was getting dark and the wind was blowing and I was just saying cover Jesus, cover Jesus,” Freeman said.

In Brunswick County, the Sheriff’s Office reported damage as well, including a tree across the 500 block of Gilbert Drive and several reports of standing water.