A tornado spawned by Florence touched down in North Carolina on Sept. 17, leaving damage in the Elm City area.
The tornado was reported over Elm City around 7:30 a.m., eight miles southwest of Rocky Mount, according to the National Weather Service.
The service said that the tornado left trees and power lines down in the area and also inflicted damage to some buildings, citing emergency officials in Wilson County, reported The News & Observer.
Tornado warnings were also issued for Durham County and eastern Orange County around 7:30 a.m. but they were discontinued about 30 minutes later with no confirmed tornado spottings.
The service said that there were four reports of tornado touchdowns, coming from Elm City, Roseboro, Pikeville, and Goldsboro. The video footage above shows damage in Sampson County.
Tornado Warning continues for Sharpsburg NC, Elm City NC until 7:30 AM EDT pic.twitter.com/T88Tu8vxIW
— NWS Raleigh (@NWSRaleigh) September 17, 2018
New story: Trees down. homes damaged after tornado reported in Elm City https://t.co/yu1WDpPBzI #wral
— WRAL NEWS in NC (@WRAL) September 17, 2018
9 year old Taylor Barnes was home with his grandparents this morning in Elm City when the WRAL Weather App sent out a tornado warning. They rushed to safety in a closet. Good thing they did. @wral pic.twitter.com/C09Y7NsdGU
— Cullen Browder WRAL (@cullenbrowder) September 17, 2018
Damage from Elm City, NC tornado @NWSRaleigh pic.twitter.com/YDZDg3rCEu
— Justin Rose (@JRoseWx) September 17, 2018
Dispatch from Elm City where a tornado tore down trees and ripped down power lines pic.twitter.com/ctmcphBQRg
— Courtney Gross (@courtneycgross) September 17, 2018
Damage in Elm City
Susan Pittman, who lives in Elm City, said she, her husband, and her grandchild were woken up by the tornado warning. They got up and headed to a closet just moments before a tree toppled right onto their house, where the grandson Taylor had been sleeping.
“We heard all the alarms. I’m very thankful for that,” Susan Pittman told WRAL.
“I saw it, and the roof had just collapsed in the den.”
The downed trees hit houses and power lines in the area of Wilson, Leo, Main, and Barnes streets, reported The Wilson Times.
National Weather Service meteorologist Jonathan Blaes told the Times that staff with the service planned to do a damage survey in the coming days.
There were also reports of damage inflicted by the tornado outside of Elm City limits.
