Severe storms and a tornado spawned by remnants of Hurricane Florence killed at least one person near Richmond, Virginia, leaving a trail of destruction Monday. CBS affiliate WTVR-TV reports that a warehouse in Chesterfield County was reduced to rubble.
Chesterfield Fire and EMS spokesperson Lt. Jason Elmore confirms that there was one fatality in the building’s collapse. All other employees have been accounted for and one was rushed to a hospital with a minor injury.
WTVR says multiple people saw the tornado touch the ground and the resulting damage was documented online.
Residents have reported that there was extensive damage in the Hampton Park area of Chesterfield County, according to WTVR-TV. They said there was damage to their roofs, siding and downed trees on vehicles.
“It was real quiet. Then all of a sudden, we here the whoosh. We ran for cover, we went to our bathroom which has no windows. A minute later we came back out and all the trees were down,” said one neighbor. “It happened within a minute.”
Tornadoes are rare in Virginia, with an average of four occurring during the month of September. But as a result of Florence — which continues to move north and have killed at least 25 people — there have been 12 tornado warnings in the state over just the past five days, compared to 11 during the entire peak tornado season of May and early June.
Chip Reid contributed to this report.
by Peter Martinez (2018, September 17) CBS News
