Duplin did get hit by tornado
By Steve Herring
Published in News on September 10, 2014 1:46 PM
KENANSVILLE -- A tornado producing winds estimated at 115 miles per hour caused an estimated $250,000 in damages when it struck just east of Rose Hill shortly after 5 p.m. Monday afternoon.
The storm was rated as an EF2 by the National Weather Service. Storms with such a rating can produce winds of up to 135 mph.
Despite the power of the storm, only minor injuries were reported, even though one woman was in her kitchen when the storm literally brought her house down around her.
The area was not under any type of warning when the tornado struck.
There was no way it could have been predicted, said Tom Lonka, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Newport/Morehead City office.
"It was very localized," he said. "It was not your typical tornado setup. It was very unusual, the storm didn't even produce lightning."
The storm's path was less than 350 yards long, indicating that it was on the ground for less than a minute, he said.
"I am just glad it didn't stay on the ground any longer than it did," Duplin County Emergency Medical Services Director Rob McDuffie said. "F2 is strong. It could have done a lot more damage."
The storm struck in the Pasture Branch Road area east of Rose Hill in the Greenevers community. McDuffie said he was in the area Tuesday afternoon and that people were trying to salvage what they could.
All three of the houses that were hit, including a brick one, were "virtually demolished," he said.
But nearby a metal storage building was barely scratched, he said.
McDuffie, who has 28 years of emergency services experience, said he had never seen such a "freaky" storm, especially since there were no warnings.
"I was quite surprised," he said. "It just popped in and popped out. I have never seen a situation where a tornado came without a warning, especially one that powerful and that brief. No one could have predicted that."