Homes destroyed, neighbors rescued: National Weather Service confirms Upstate, South Carolina tornado

By Brittany Whitehead

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    PICKENS COUNTY, South Carolina (WLOS) — The National Weather Service confirmed Thursday afternoon, March 24, that a tornado touched down in Pickens County Wednesday night, though the official strength, path and the length of path is yet to be determined.

Damage and evidence of the tornado and severe storms that rolled through one Pickens community could be seen Thursday after tornado warnings were issued for several Upstate South Carolina counties Wednesday.

At least two homes along Lost Valley Road in Pickens were heavily damaged, with one completely knocked off its foundation and the roofs of both homes torn off. Officials with the American Red Cross of South Carolina told News 13 they had received reports of several homes being lifted off their foundations.

National Weather Service continued surveying damage Thursday to further determine whether any other tornadoes had touched down in the area.

News 13 spoke with one man who lives on Lost Valley Road in Pickens, where officials said emergency crews had to rescue three people out of a home Wednesday night after a possible tornado passed through.

Bily Banks told News 13 that when he and his wife came home from church at about 8:20 p.m. Wednesday, the storm hit shortly after.

“We wasn’t in the house but 10 minutes and it hit. It rocked my house,” Banks said. “It took three trees down, landed on my car, but I got them off. I thought it was going to take my whole house out.”

Banks and his wife soon learned through a phone call from his wife’s brother that a neighbor down the road from them was trapped in her home.

“Tammy was caught in the house, trapped, so I just grabbed my chainsaw and run down here,” Banks said. “I got down here, and the fire department asked me if they could use my saw. They used it to cut her out.”

Banks said the fire department was able to rescue his neighbor, who was trapped in her home, near her kitchen, and get her out about 15-20 minutes later.

“She’s got a bunch of scratches, she’s got bruises on her back, stuff like that, but she’s fine. I mean, she’s lucky,” Banks said of his neighbor.

American Red Cross was on hand Thursday, helping with efforts and doing damage assessments of their own.

“We’re seeing tons of downed trees, we’ve heard of several homes being lifted off of their foundations, there are a lot of trees and limbs through roofs of homes,” said Mandy McWhorter, regional communications director for the American Red Cross of South Carolina. “So, a lot of damage that’s going to be really expensive for the families to deal with, and that’s why we’re here to support them throughout their recovery.”

McWhorter told News 13 the Red Cross volunteers were trying to meet the immediate needs of those whose homes were damaged — as well as people who had been displaced because of damage.

“Right now, we’re talking to families and learning about the level of devastation to their homes through these damage assessments. We’ll then be able to determine what level of financial assistance we can hopefully provide them, and then we’re also going to set up open cases for them to help them on their long-term recovery. That helps with referrals to mental and spiritual health care. These people have suffered a huge loss, losing all their belongings in their homes. Some of them are displaced and staying with family members, and some are even in hotels. There’s a number of different needs, and we’re here to help identify what those needs are and then connect them with the right resources.”

She said more volunteers are needed, particularly in rural areas, which is where the storms appear to have been the worst.

“We always need more volunteers, especially here in the Upstate and in the rural communities. What those volunteers do is, they’re going out, meeting with families, listening to their stories, conducting damage assessments and helping to provide for their immediate needs, such as financial assistance. We’re giving out tarps and water to them, so there’s a number of different things that volunteers do, but we really need more folks.”

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