LAURENS COUNTY, S.C. —
Some Laurens County residents are getting some help, as they clean up the pieces left behind by Sunday’s storms.
The National Weather Service confirmed an EF2 tornado tore through parts of Laurens and Spartanburg counties around 4 p.m. Sunday.
Crews surveyed the damage Monday. They found the tornado snapped and uprooted trees and damaged more than a dozen homes and other buildings.
Residents at a mobile home park off Torrington Road saw severe damage from the storm. The tornado scattered clothes, beds, and other belongings all over the neighborhood. The storm also leveled homes to their foundations and swept debris yards away from where the homes originally stood. The Laurens County Emergency Management Agency says one woman went to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries because of the tornado.
Michelle Knight says her brother-in-law, his wife, their son, and a 5-month-old baby lived in one of the mobile homes off Torrington Road.
“He said it threw him around like a rag doll,” Knight told WYFF News 4. “Physically, they will be fine. But mentally, it’s going to take a while. I mean, this is not something you just get over.”
Knight says her brother-in-law tried to seek shelter in a bathroom once he learned of the looming threat of a tornado. However, it did not take long for the family to feel the effects of the natural disaster.
“Everything that they owned was here,” Knight said. “And now it’s gone. That’s where it is. It’s out there. Everything that they worked for.”
Brandon Demerest drove for miles to lend a friend a helping hand. He and a few others hauled lumber away from a dented car and littered yard.
“We are helping of our own free will,” Demerest said. “We’re not getting paid for this. We’re doing this from the kindness of our heart. We need more people like us, because there’s a lot of stuff that needs to be cleaned up here.”
Cleanup crews are helping restore the neighborhood, unsure of how long it will take to return to normal. Some of the residents affected have turned to the Red Cross for temporary housing and assistance. Sunday’s storms sent a strong message to Knight and her family.
“Everything in that house can be replaced,” Knight said. “They can’t.”
by Joe Ripley
October 9, 2017
