At least three people were killed and 10 injured when a tornado struck a North Carolina beach town Tuesday (Feb. 16); meanwhile, millions of people in Texas woke up still without power and in sub-freezing temperatures.
North Carolina authorities said the tornado struck the Ocean Ridge Plantation Community in southeastern Brunswick County near Grissettown just after midnight Tuesday, killing three people and injuring at least 10 others.
According to local media reports, the tornado destroyed dozens of homes, snapped trees in half, downed power lines and left thousands of homes without power. Governor Roy Cooper said rescue operations will continue Tuesday.
Brunswick County Sheriff John Ingram said at a press conference, “I’ve never seen this kind of destruction, the amount of damage (the tornado) caused. It’s going to be a long recovery process.”
Ingram said the search for missing people is ongoing and will be intensified during the day. He urged people to avoid the area when they see rescue workers clearing streets and searching for victims.
Brunswick County emergency management said the disaster also left many people stranded in their homes.
At the same Time, nearly 4 million homes and businesses were without power Tuesday morning in Texas, where temperatures dropped to single digits overnight.
According to poweroutage.us, which tracks utility outage reports, more than 250,000 people were also without power in parts of Appalachia, and 250,000 people were still without power in northwest Oregon after another ice storm (ice storm).
Recent Comments