STORM2K

A tornado kills at least five people in North Carolina, the Columbus County sheriff tells CNN affiliate WECT TV.

Front page of CNN developing Story

Bummage...

WECT says that several are still missing, possibly including an 8-year-old boy.

Now nine people dead in Columbus County.

Regit wrote:Now nine people dead in Columbus County.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15747102/

Sounds like Evansville all over again...

I am still seeing 6 deaths, but that can change fast. Definitely that is right. I am currently catching up to everything and profiling it on Wikipedia.

CNN is reporting 7 dead. All at a mobile home park.

Yep...7 dead,20 injured, 13,500 homes w/o power according to MSNBC

lester88 wrote:Yep...7 dead,20 injured, 13,500 homes w/o power according to MSNBC

and 4 missing, per the Governor.

yes...and there is another injury to add to this pile:
That is a few hours away from me...luckly it appears the line died down some before it came through my area...I'm safe and it appears to be over...

whoa...I just read the article about the tornado...the scary thing is that I was up at 6:20 or so looking at the radar and saw the storm cell that produced the tornado thinking it looked very much like a supercell and wondered why there wasnt a warning out for it...If I remember correctly, there was a warning issued for it right before I left the house...if I thought about it, I would of saved a radar image...

000
NOUS42 KILM 162323
PNSILM

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON NC
623 PM EST WED NOV 16 2006

...STORM SURVEY DISCOVERED TORNADO DAMAGE AT RIEGELWOOD NC...

A LINE OF POWERFUL THUNDERSTORMS ASSOCIATED WITH A STRONG COLD
FRONT MOVED THROUGH THE CAROLINAS EARLY THIS MORNING.

A NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STORM SURVEY TEAM WENT TO EASTERN
COLUMBUS COUNTY NEAR RIEGELWOOD TO SURVEY TORNADO DAMAGE. THE STORM
SURVEY TEAM DID DETERMINE THAT A STRONG TORNADO AFFECTED THE AREA
BUT HAD NOT YET DETERMINED THE INTENSITY. THE STORM SURVEY TEAM WILL
RETURN TO THE SCENE AGAIN ON FRIDAY TO INVESTIGATE FURTHER AND REACH
AN INTENSITY DETERMINATION. ANOTHER STATEMENT WILL BE ISSUED BY THE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WILMINGTON LATE FRIDAY AFTERNOON.

A TORNADO WARNING HAD BEEN ISSUED FOR EASTERN COLUMBUS COUNTY AT 629
AM...PRIOR TO THAT A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING WAS ISSUED FOR THE
SAME AREA AT 621 AM...AND NOAA WEATHER RADIOS IN THE AREA
AUTOMATICALLY ALARMED FOR BOTH WARNINGS TO ALERT PEOPLE.

THE TORNADO CAUSED 7 FATALITIES...20 TREATED INJURIES...AND 30 HOMES
WERE DESTROYED ACCORDING TO THE COLUMBUS COUNTY SHERIFF.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ENCOURAGES EVERYONE TO SERIOUSLY
CONSIDER YOUR PERSONAL SAFETY...AS WELL AS YOUR FAMILY...AND
PURCHASE A WEATHER RADIO FOR THE HOME OR BUSINESS. WHEN A WARNING IS
ISSUED THE RADIO WILL AUTOMATICALLY ALARM...GIVING YOU PRECIOUS TIME
TO PREPARE FOR A DANGEROUS SITUATION.

ALSO...NOAA WEATHER RADIO ALL HAZARDS IS THE ONLY GOVERNMENT RADIO
SYSTEM AND WILL AUTOMATICALLY ALARM TO ALERT YOU TO A WIDE RANGE OF
OTHER HAZARDS THAN JUST WEATHER.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON NOAA WEATHER RADIO ALL HAZARDS...PLEASE TO
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WEBSITE:
HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV

END
$$

MAC/TM

It seems like they AIM FOR mobile home parks!

That is so sad!

Based on the pictures I have seen, I would rate it an F3, although they need to look at the structural integrity and other damage we never saw.

Stephanie wrote:It seems like they AIM FOR mobile home parks!

That is so sad!

I know! If it happened 1-2 hours earlier, there could have easily been double or triple the death toll as well, since that was when people were waking up...

CrazyC83 wrote:

Stephanie wrote:It seems like they AIM FOR mobile home parks!

That is so sad!

I know! If it happened 1-2 hours earlier, there could have easily been double or triple the death toll as well, since that was when people were waking up...

That's true. Thank goodness for small favors, huh?

Just an update. This happened about 1 mile from my house and it did go through a mobile home park but it also destroyed 3 brick houses along the way. So I would say it had to at least be an F3. Everyone is rallying around these people and donating clothes and food. Plenty of support. Just say a prayer for the families and I will give further updates later.

Watching the video I am just overwhelmed. I know how those people feel and my heart goes out to them. Especially to the elderly couple that lost their daughter, son in law and granddaughter. This is just so sad!!

Wannabewxman79 wrote:Just an update. This happened about 1 mile from my house and it did go through a mobile home park but it also destroyed 3 brick houses along the way. So I would say it had to at least be an F3. Everyone is rallying around these people and donating clothes and food. Plenty of support. Just say a prayer for the families and I will give further updates later.

Oh wow. Thank goodness you are safe. I will definitely say a prayer for the families of the victims.

Wannabewxman79 wrote:Just an update. This happened about 1 mile from my house and it did go through a mobile home park but it also destroyed 3 brick houses along the way. So I would say it had to at least be an F3. Everyone is rallying around these people and donating clothes and food. Plenty of support. Just say a prayer for the families and I will give further updates later.

Glad you are okay!

Wannabewxman79 wrote:Just an update. This happened about 1 mile from my house and it did go through a mobile home park but it also destroyed 3 brick houses along the way. So I would say it had to at least be an F3. Everyone is rallying around these people and donating clothes and food. Plenty of support. Just say a prayer for the families and I will give further updates later.

Thank God you are OK!!! Pray for all the victims and everyone!!!

Destroyed brick houses to what extent? Are any walls standing? (That separates F3 from F4). All the pictures I have seen suggest an F3 but it could be higher if I am missing information.