Officials have confirmed it was an EF3 tornado that touched down shortly before midnight Monday in a seaside town, killing three people and leaving 10 others injured.
The violent storm that struck neighborhoods just inland from the barrier island of Ocean Isle Beach, ripping homes apart and flipping over cars, was spawned along the edge of the same weather system that brought bitterly cold temperatures to much of the nation.
The National Weather Service tweeted Tuesday afternoon that the tornado was a ferocious EF3, with winds estimated at 160 mph (257 kph).
The @Brunscosheriff says that there have been three confirmed fatalities and 10 injuries from the tornado that hit the Ocean Ridge plantation neighborhood around 11:30pm last night. Another update is expected at noon. Tune into @SpecNews1ILM and @SpecNews1RDU for the latest. pic.twitter.com/NmnMDF92lN
— Natalie Mooney (@nvmooney) February 16, 2021
The twister tore through the Ocean Ridge Plantation, a complex of expensive residences clustered around a golf course, collapsing some homes and damaging dozens of others. It also damaged homes in more modest neighborhoods on a highway that unspools along several North Carolina beaches.
"It’s something like I have never seen before. A lot of destruction. It’s going to be a long recovery process," Brunswick County Sheriff John Ingram said at a press conference early Tuesday. Brunswick County Emergency Management said people had been trapped in homes.
In an update at a news conference at noon Tuesday, Director of Brunswick County Emergency Services Edward Conrow asked people to avoid the damaged area unless they are a resident or worker. Agencies are working together to access structural damge, he said, but there is still a lot of debris in the area.
"This is defintely going to be a long-term event," he said of the recovery process, adding that there was "serious destruction" from the storm.
The emergency management team is also working with the American Red Cross in setting up a reception area to help in coordinating shelter, food, and whatever else residents impacted by the storm may need, officials said.
Crews with the Brunswick Electric Corporation are working to remove downed powerlines and restoring electricity to those still without it. Multiple agencies are working together to clear damage and ensure safety in the storm's aftermath.
The National Weather Service sounded an alarm about the storm shortly before it hit, but officials said weather authorities stated that this tornado was rare in how rapidly it intensified, leaving those in its path with little time to get to safety.
“We’ve been talking with our partners at the National Weather Service, and they were very surprised how rapidly this storm intensified,” said Ed Conrow, Brunswick County’s emergency services director. “It’s something they normally don’t see. So we didn’t have much warning. And at the time of night when most people are at home and in bed, it creates a very dangerous situation.”
Wilmington Fire Department and other agencies fanned out after the storm hit and searched for those who needed help. A search and rescue mission was done in the area of Old Shallotte Road and Ocean Ridge Plantation, and as of noon Tuesday, emergency officials said that no one was missing. They couldn't say whether those killed in the storm were all in the same home or in different ones.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.