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Hurricane Dorian Floods Charleston, Spawns Damaging Tornadoes; Virginia Urges Evacuations

By Ron Brackett

September 06, 2019

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At a Glance

  • More than 100 roads closed in and around Charleston, South Carolina.
  • More than 200,000 customers are without electricity.
  • Reported tornadoes damaged homes in both North and South Carolina.
  • A tornado in Emerald Isle, North Carolina, damaged mobile homes, RVs and a water park.
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This article is no longer being updated. For the latest U.S. impacts, click here.

Hurricane Dorian spawned damaging tornadoes and its high winds and torrential rains felled trees, flooded roads and knocked out power to thousands Thursday from Georgia to North Carolina.

At times on Thursday, more than a quarter million customers were without power in South Carolina. That number hovered around 200,000 customers at 9 p.m., according to poweroutage.us. Another 34,000 in North Carolina remained without electricity.

As Dorian continued a slow trek up the Eastern Seaboard, Virginia Beach officials ordered a mandatory evacuation for Sandbridge residents effective at 6 p.m. Thursday, the Virginian Pilot reported. Virginia Beach residents who live in Zone A and areas that have historically experienced flooding were asked to voluntarily evacuate.

City officials in Hampton, Virginia, and Portsmouth, Virginia, also encouraged their residents who live in Zone A to consider evacuating to higher ground, according to the Virginia Department of Emergency Management.

"Now is the time for all Virginians, especially those in our coastal regions, to finalize their preparations, listen to local emergency managers, and take shelter before the storm reaches our Commonwealth," Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said in a statement.

Ahead of the storm, the city of New York announced that city beaches would be closed Friday and Saturday.

South Carolina

There were more than 100 road closures in and around the city of Charleston, South Carolina, because of flooding and other blockages. As much as 20 inches of rain in places was forecast in the counties around Charleston.

Floodwaters flowed through the streets around the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. Outside the Charleston City Market, a live wire fell into floodwaters, and the sparking caused explosions that could be heard blocks away, the Associated Press reported.

A video shared on Twitter showed floodwaters spreading along Meeting and Huger streets in downtown Charleston, about 3,300 feet from the Cooper River.

Charleston officials said the storms had toppled more than 150 trees in the city.

About 4:45 a.m., a tree crashed through the ceiling of a North Charleston home, landing in a boy's bedroom, WCSC reported. Luckily, the family was sleeping downstairs because of the threat from Dorian.

Wind tore off half the roof at the Holy City Church in James Island, a town next to Charleston, WCSC reported. Dozens of trees were blown down around the town.

(MORE: Hurricane Dorian Kills 20 in Bahamas, Where Humanitarian Crisis Is Unfolding)

Charleston County EMS announced it was evaluating weather conditions before sending crews out on 911 calls. One official said the county had received 162 wind-related damage reports, according to the National Weather Service.

In a rare occurrence of the Waffle House Index turning red, Dorian forced the closure of two Waffle House locations in South Carolina, according to The State. One location in Charleston and another on Johns Island closed because of power and flooding issues, Pat Warner, director of public relations and external affairs at Waffle House, told McClatchy news group in an email. The 10 other Charleston area locations remained open, as did all other Waffle House restaurants in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.

Dorian caused some overwash on Pawleys Island, but didn't deposit much sand on Springs Avenue, according to the Pawleys Island Police Department. The dunes didn't sustain much damage, either.

Dorchester County pulled all public works and state transportation department vehicles off the roads as conditions worsened about 9 a.m. The county said public safety crews would "respond to true emergency calls only."

The county also shared video of trees and limbs lying across a stretch of westbound Interstate 26.

Georgetown County officials said in tweet that fire and EMS services had been called off "until wind speeds subside to a safe level." In the city of Georgetown, water stood about a foot deep on Front Street and was getting deeper.

A spokesman for the fire department in Beaufort, South Carolina, said the dispatch center was overwhelmed with calls about fallen trees.

A large tree limb punched through the roof of a home in Beaufort about 1:30 a.m., according to the Island Packet. A man living in the home wasn’t hurt, firefighters said.

(MORE: The Latest on the Timing and Projected Path of Dorian)

Downed trees also blocked roads in Hilton Head and Bluffton, South Carolina.

Tornadoes were reported in South and North Carolina.

One tornado was spotted in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The winds ripped the siding off an apartment building and damaged the roof, WMBF reported. Street flooding was also reported in North Myrtle Beach.

A North Myrtle Beach city spokesman, Patrick Dowling, told the Associated Press that officials think one or more suspected tornadoes damaged several residences and mobile homes .

Another tornado damaged homes in Little River, South Carolina, WPDE reported.

Power lines were down across roads in Horry County and Dillion County, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol.

In an afternoon news briefing, Gov. Henry McMaster said mandatory evacuation orders were lifted in three of the eight counties where they had been in effect. Those counties are Jasper, Beaufort and Colleton. The evacuation order remains in effect in Charleston, Dorchester, Berkeley, Georgetown and Horry counties.

North Carolina

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Just across the state line, roofs were ripped off homes in a development near Carolina Springs, North Carolina. Insulation, shingles, boards and wrought iron fences littered dozens of yards, according to a video from the Brunswick County Sheriff's Office. The governor's office later confirmed a tornado touched down leaving a trail of damage about 10 miles long near Calabash and Sunset Beach.

A possible tornado tore the roof off the Scotts Hill Market near Topsail, North Carolina, north of Wilmington.

The National Weather Service office in Wilmington shared video of a tornado passing near Pender County Fire Station 18 along U.S. 17 in Burgaw, North Carolina.

About 9 a.m. Thursday, a tornado that had formed offshore as a waterspout destroyed or damaged an RV park, a camper storage area and a water park in Emerald Isle, North Carolina, town officials said.

No Injuries were reported. Town Manager Matt Zapp told the News & Observer people were in at least one of the campers in the Boardwalk RV Park when the tornado hit. About half of the 50 mobile homes in the park were damaged, WECT reported.

The Boardwalk RV Park was damaged about 9 a.m. Thursday, September 5, 2019, after a waterspout or tornado was spawned by Hurricane Dorian, according to Emerald Isle town officials. No injuries were reported. (Facebook/Town of Emerald Isle)
The Boardwalk RV Park was damaged about 9 a.m. Thursday, September 5, 2019, after a waterspout or tornado was spawned by Hurricane Dorian, according to Emerald Isle town officials. No injuries were reported.
(Facebook/Town of Emerald Isle)

The campers were stored a few blocks away at the Holiday Trav-L-Park. Ronnie Watson, who owns the park, said he was in his office when he heard screams.

"My grandson and daughter were screaming, 'Tornado! Tornado!'" Watson told the N&O. "I looked up and saw it coming. So we ran into the bathroom. It sounded like a locomotive."

Watson said the tornado damaged 40 to 50 trailers in the storage area.

The water slide at the Salty Pirate Water Park survived, but buildings on the property were damaged.

"Oh God, it’s totally destroyed," owner Paul Musco said.

On the Outer Banks, ferries were shut down Wednesday after evacuating 1,441 people and 756 vehicles on Wednesday from Ocracoke, the AP reported. The governor of North Carolina had ordered mandatory evacuations on all of the state's barrier islands.

Officials said in a news release that there will be no access to Dare County starting at 8 p.m. Thursday, the AP reported. In addition, curfews begin in most of the county at 8 p.m. and continue until at least noon Friday. No curfew is in effect in Kitty Hawk.

At least one death in North Carolina has been linked to Hurricane Dorian. An 85-year-old Columbus County man fell off a ladder while preparing his home for the storm, according to Gov. Roy Cooper.

In a briefing Thursday, Gov. Cooper said, "This is a powerful, dangerous storm. Do not put yourselves or your families at risk and do not drive through flood waters."

At least 40 counties have declared states of emergency, and five have instituted curfews for Thursday night. More than 45 school districts closed were closed Thursday and five were on on early release.

Virginia

Several Virginia school districts announced they would be closed on Friday, including Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Suffolk and Hampton. Universities and colleges including Old Dominion, Norfolk State, Tidewater Community College, Saint Leo and Eastern Virginia Medical School announced classes would be canceled Friday. Some also closed early on Thursday.

"Hurricane Dorian remains a powerful storm that has already caused loss of life and serious damage in the Bahamas, Florida, and the Carolinas," Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said in a statement. "Tropical storm force winds, storm surge, heavy rains, and flooding from this hurricane will impact much of eastern Virginia overnight and tomorrow."

City and county government offices across the region also will be closed. The U.S. Navy moved ships out of Virginia ports, and Stars and Stripes reported that over 820 people, "including families, guests, and Marines and Navy servicemembers" were evacuated from areas in Virginia Beach.

Georgia

Jason Buelterman, mayor of Tybee Island, Georgia, told WCSC the island was spared from flooding when the high tide was about 3 feet lower than predicted. Little damage was inflicted on the island that is home to about 3,000 people, and U.S. 80, the highway that links Tybee Island to Savanah, remained open all night.

"If the worst that comes out of this is people blame others for calling evacuations, then that's wonderful," Buelterman said.

In Savannah, businesses that had boarded up began reopening on Thursday morning.

Emergency officials along the 100-mile Georgia coast reported only light damage from Dorian. Gov. Brian Kemp lifted the evacuation order Thursday morning for all six coastal Georgia counties.

Florida

Hurricane Dorian's brush by the Sunshine State appears to not have caused serious damage.

The storm left parts of St. Augustine and flood-prone areas in Jacksonville inundated, according to the Florida Times-Union, but officials said they didn’t receive reports of major flooding.

Water entered some homes on Anastasia Island, north of St. Augustine Beach, WJXT reported.

Beyond some beach erosion, the Space Coast also appears to have escaped serious damage, officials told Florida Today.

Mandatory evacuations were canceled and people began to return to their homes.

The state's Department of Transportation said tolls were being reinstated on toll road beginning early Thursday. Ports reopened and cruise ships began to get back on schedule.

Two people died in accidents related to storm preparation. An Indialantic, Florida, man fell from a ladder while boarding up windows on a beachside condominium, police told Florida Today. In Ocoee, a man trimming tree limbs ahead of Dorian was killed on Monday when he fell from the tree, authorities told WKMG.

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