THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 23, 1994 TAG: 9409230534
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PERRY PARKS AND DREW WILSON, STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: RODANTHE LENGTH: Short : 47 lines
A woman was slightly injured and a torn-apart trailer littered N.C. Route 12 early Thursday after a tornado raked the area.
The woman, who was in a recreational vehicle that overturned, was treated at Outer Banks Medical Center and released, emergency medical services officials said.
Hatteras and Ocracoke Island residents went three to five hours without electricity after debris from the trailer damaged power lines, said Claudine Williams, assistant manager of the Cape Hatteras Electric Membership Corp.
Several homes in the storm's path had windows blown in or out, and two storage buildings were destroyed, officials said. Damage was estimated at $30,000.
``We were very fortunate no one was really seriously injured,'' Dare County Sheriff Bert Austin said.
An early-morning thunderstorm moving through the area spawned the tornado about 5 a.m., officials at the National Weather Service station at Cape Hatteras said.
``It just went swoosh, that was it,'' said Bill White, 74, whose Rodanthe home is about 200 feet from the path of destruction. ``My wife and I were talking about the storm. I looked at the wind gauge and it said 40 miles per hour, and just about that time it went shweeerrr. We were lucky all we lost was a few trees and one window.
``If it ain't hurricanes, it's something else,'' White said. ``I just thank God it wasn't any worse than it was.''
The National Weather Service station at Cape Hatteras recorded gusts up to 51 mph throughout the night. Some 5.67 inches of rain fell between 9 p.m. Wednesday and 4:30 a.m. Thursday, said official-in-charge Wallace Demaurice. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
DREW C. WILSON/Staff
The remains of a mobile home litter N.C. Route 12 Thursday after a
tornado pounded the village of Rodanthe. Hatteras and Ocracoke
Island residents went three to five hours without electricity.
KEYWORDS: TORNADOES STORMS DAMAGE by CNB