PERQUIMANS COUNTY, NC — Eight people in the Long View Estates community were taken to the hospital after an EF-1 tornado struck the Woodville, NC, area Monday morning, according to Perquimans County Emergency Services.
Emergency Services confirmed to News 3 that the storms damaged at least 13 mobile homes, three of which were demolished — not all of the homes were believed to be occupied.
The National Weather Service Storm Survey Team says the storm reached maximum wind speeds of 110 mph and touched down around 3:02 a.m. in a field just southwest of Longview Estates near Woodville Road.
"[We're] trying to get a starting point of where the tornado potentially would have touched down, and then working our way through the neighborhood to try to document the damage that we've seen," said Eric Seymour, warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
The storm team told News 3 that after touch down, the tornado quickly moved its way northeast, destroying numerous trees and sheds before lifting at 3:06 a.m.
Laquasia Hughes is a mother who lost her home in the storm. Despite the loss, she expressed gratitude that her family was unharmed.
“I have no idea how we’re not like [injured]," Hughes said. "It’s just no other way to say it other than that [God] was definitely with us.”
Among those affected was Tykinsten Wood, who shared his harrowing experience of survival when disaster struck.
"I just heard the rain coming down pretty hard, so I got up out of bed and looked out the back window," Wood recalled. "I heard the wind just start picking up all of a sudden, and something just told me to drop to the floor and cover my head."
Wood’s quick instincts proved vital, as moments later, his home was torn apart. “It shook a little bit, and then everything was gone—it was just that fast,” he said. “Once I realized, I was laying on the ground because I could feel the wet ground.”
Public safety and utility crew, and County Damage Assessment Teams were present in Perquimans County. Access to the neighborhood was restricted to non-residents.
According to Pasquotank-Camden Emergency Management’s Facebook, Perquimans County Emergency Services and the Inter-County Volunteer Fire Department responded.
This is a developing story — News 3 will continue to update this page.
