Tropical Storm Debby spins up tornadoes, dumps rain in North Carolina

LUCAMA, N.C. -- Tornadoes spawned by Tropical Storm Debby leveled homes, damaged a school and killed one person early Thursday, as the system dropped heavy rain and flooded communities across North and South Carolina.

It only took 15 seconds for a tornado to devastate Genesis Cooper’s home in Lucama, North Carolina, a small town about 40 miles (64 kilometers) east of Raleigh. He almost slept through it — if not for an alert on his wife’s phone.

He, his wife and their 20-year-old son huddled in a bathroom with blankets. They felt vibrations and heard glass shattering before hearing a sudden boom.

“I can’t even describe it. It’s like, suction, that’s what it felt like,” Cooper said. “Like something is squeezing, like your ears are popping.”

The tornado was one of at least three reported overnight in North Carolina, and perhaps the most devastating. One person was found dead in a home damaged by the Lucama tornado, Wilson County spokesman Stephen Mann said in an email. No further details on the person were immediately provided.

Cooper said the tornado was so intense, the wind gusts dragged a large punching bag out of his son’s bedroom and flung it into the living room, knocking his son’s door off the hinges. Parts of their home’s roof and walls were torn off, causing water to leak inside. The side windows were busted out, and the backyard pool deck was damaged.

Despite it all, Cooper seemed to be calm, saying that he knew they were in God’s hands.

“This is just stuff. It can be replaced,” Cooper said.

Theresa Richardson hunkered down with her husband and granddaughter in the closet of their Lucama home as the tornado tore through about a mile away.

Debris struck the house. And they could hear the roof of nearby Springfield Middle School being ripped off.

Richardson said tornadoes have struck the area before, and her neighbors call the road they live on “tornado alley.”

The superintendent of Wilson County Schools confirmed damage at Springfield Middle School, where sections of the walls and roof of the 6th and 7th grade halls are gone or compromised.

“It was heartbreaking to see the school right after the event,” Superintendent Lane Mills said in a statement.

Drone footage showed portions of the school's roof ripped off, exposing rafters and duct work. Windows were blown out. A section of wall had crumbled onto the soggy green lawn, which was strewn with twisted pieces of metal roof and shredded insulation.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said at a briefing Thursday that the state has activated more National Guard troops and added additional vehicles that can rescue people in floods.

Cooper said his thoughts were with the man killed by the tornado and his family. The governor spoke at a National Guard armory, where weather alarms could be heard going off behind him.

Meanwhile, about 100 miles (161 kilometers) south of Lucama, deputies in Bladenboro posted photos of a patrol car damaged by a fallen tree, as well as roads that had been washed out. Standing water a few feet deep covered parts of the tiny North Carolina town.

Townspeople had helped fill sandbags Wednesday before up to 3 feet (91 centimeters) of floodwaters backed into the downtown overnight. When the sun came up, water could still be seen bubbling out of manhole covers.

Emily Dowless, who co-owns furniture store Market on Main, said 20 neighbors and friends helped moved items from the store into trailers and up off the floor in anticipation of flooding. She said about 3 inches (8 centimeters) of water made it inside the business.

“If the worst is over, that’s great,” she said.

Forest Lennon, the owner of Diamond Dave’s Grill in Bladenboro, was counting his blessings even though 5 inches (13 centimeters) of floodwater made its way into the restaurant. He and his wife have owned the place since September. The previous owner said 3 feet of water inundated the building during the last two serious hurricanes, Matthew and Florence.

“It could have been a lot worse,” Lennon said, adding that they did everything they could to prepare for the storm.

“We just came in here and got everything we could as high as we could up off the ground … and we just left and prayed for the best,” he said. “And that was all we could do.”

Debby made a second landfall in South Carolina early Thursday, the National Hurricane Center said. The first landfall was early Monday on the Gulf Coast of Florida.

At least seven people have died due to the storm.

More flooding was expected in North and South Carolina. Up to 6 more inches (15 centimeters) of rain could fall before Debby clears those states. Parts of Maryland, upstate New York and Vermont could get similar rainfall totals by the end of the weekend, the weather service said.

Central parts of North Carolina up through Virginia were forecast to receive 3 to 7 inches (8 to 18 centimeters) of rain, with isolated areas getting up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) through Friday. The hurricane center warned of the potential for flash flooding.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said Thursday afternoon that Debby's effects aren’t completely over because rain falling in North Carolina could swell rivers and cause flooding downstream.

“We’ve passed some dangers, but there’s still plenty,” McMaster said. “So don’t let your guard down yet.”

Back on the coast, Robert Chesnut stood in nearly a foot of water inside his Isle of Palms home with a rented an industrial pump that looked like a fire hose. After more than three hours, only about an inch (2.5 centimeters) of water had been pulled out of his house on the barrier island near Charleston.

And once the water is gone, there is still a lot of work to do.

“This is contaminated water,” Chesnut said. “These houses are on septic tanks. I hate to say it, but that’s fecal matter. You have to disinfect everything.”

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This story has been updated to remove an incorrect reference to total rainfall amounts for the Carolinas.

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Associated Press contributors include Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina; Jeff Martin in Atlanta, and freelance photographer Mic Smith in Isle of Palms, South Carolina.