Two killed after tornadoes strike North Carolina
KENLY, N.C. (AP)- A cluster of strong thunderstorms produced tornadoes as
severe weather swept across central North Carolina early Saturday, killing two
people and destroying at least a half-dozen homes.
A woman was found dead amid the rubble that was once her home in the community of Kenly, about 35 miles southeast of Raleigh, said state police spokeswoman Patty McQuillan. The only thing left standing was her front porch.
Elsewhere in Johnston County, authorities said a child also was killed. A third person authorities thought was missing had been accounted for.
Residents emerged at daybreak to find their homes in ruins, cars flipped over and debris strewn about. Several injuries also were reported.
Officials said the severe storm affected a half-dozen counties, knocking down tress and power lines.
"It was pretty massive destruction," Johnston County emergency management coordinator Derrick Duggins said. "It goes to show the magnitude of what natural weather can do."
Kenly residents picked through the debris of Mark Stephenson's one-story brick home that was leveled. Family and friends piled up mattresses, took pictures of the damage and filled garbage bags with trash.
The winds tossed family portraits into the woods some 200 yards away. The skeleton of a new camper the Stephensons had just bought rested nearby.
One half of Stephenson's home was flattened, while a tree had fallen through the other half, on top of his 19-year-old daughter's bedroom. She was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
"It's hard to believe, it's hard to take in," Stephenson said. "We've got our lives and our health, so we're good to go."
His 14-year-old son, Hunter, pointed to what used to be his bedroom - now just a pile of bricks and beams. Hunter's bedroom was being remodeled and he had been sleeping in the living room.
"I'm lucky," he said. "It's crazy, if I would have been in there, I would have been dead."
Three homes away, Stacey Franks, 31, checked on her 78-year-old father. Two large trees had missed falling on his mobile home by a few feet. His tractor-trailer had been flipped on its side.
"He's nerves are really damaged. He's just upset," Franks said of her father. "I just can't believe this has happened."
Authorities did not immediately release the names or ages of those killed.
U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge, who represents the area, surveyed the damage Saturday, describing beams in the home where the woman was found as spaghetti-like. Gov. Mike Easley planned to tour the area Sunday.
A Red Cross Shelter was opened at a church in Kenly. National Weather Service officials were sending crews out to survey the damage.
The weakened storm system moved northeast to the Virginia coast. National Weather Service meteorologist Jonathan Blaes warned there was potential for another round of nasty weather along the Carolinas coast Saturday afternoon as a cold front crept across the region.
A woman was found dead amid the rubble that was once her home in the community of Kenly, about 35 miles southeast of Raleigh, said state police spokeswoman Patty McQuillan. The only thing left standing was her front porch.
Elsewhere in Johnston County, authorities said a child also was killed. A third person authorities thought was missing had been accounted for.
Residents emerged at daybreak to find their homes in ruins, cars flipped over and debris strewn about. Several injuries also were reported.
Officials said the severe storm affected a half-dozen counties, knocking down tress and power lines.
"It was pretty massive destruction," Johnston County emergency management coordinator Derrick Duggins said. "It goes to show the magnitude of what natural weather can do."
Kenly residents picked through the debris of Mark Stephenson's one-story brick home that was leveled. Family and friends piled up mattresses, took pictures of the damage and filled garbage bags with trash.
The winds tossed family portraits into the woods some 200 yards away. The skeleton of a new camper the Stephensons had just bought rested nearby.
One half of Stephenson's home was flattened, while a tree had fallen through the other half, on top of his 19-year-old daughter's bedroom. She was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
"It's hard to believe, it's hard to take in," Stephenson said. "We've got our lives and our health, so we're good to go."
His 14-year-old son, Hunter, pointed to what used to be his bedroom - now just a pile of bricks and beams. Hunter's bedroom was being remodeled and he had been sleeping in the living room.
"I'm lucky," he said. "It's crazy, if I would have been in there, I would have been dead."
Three homes away, Stacey Franks, 31, checked on her 78-year-old father. Two large trees had missed falling on his mobile home by a few feet. His tractor-trailer had been flipped on its side.
"He's nerves are really damaged. He's just upset," Franks said of her father. "I just can't believe this has happened."
Authorities did not immediately release the names or ages of those killed.
U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge, who represents the area, surveyed the damage Saturday, describing beams in the home where the woman was found as spaghetti-like. Gov. Mike Easley planned to tour the area Sunday.
A Red Cross Shelter was opened at a church in Kenly. National Weather Service officials were sending crews out to survey the damage.
The weakened storm system moved northeast to the Virginia coast. National Weather Service meteorologist Jonathan Blaes warned there was potential for another round of nasty weather along the Carolinas coast Saturday afternoon as a cold front crept across the region.
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