Confirmed tornado tears through Sampson Co. leaving behind damage to assisted living facility, homes
HARRELLS, N.C. (WTVD) -- An outer band of Tropical Storm Debby spawned a tornado that ripped through the Sampson County town of Harrells, destroying two homes - one an assisted living facility.
It happened around 2:15 p.m. Wednesday. The National Weather Service placed the region under a tornado warning from about 2-2:30 p.m.
A first responder in Pender County filmed the video below showing the large twister spinning across a field.
ALSO SEE: Tracking Debby: Latest forecast shifts tropical storm west and speeds its movement up through NC
This is the first severe storm or tornado warning spawned in North Carolina off the bands of Tropical Storm Debby.
The damaged homes were along Bland School Road not far from US-421 and the Pender County line.
The storm tore the roof off of one home that had a young boy, a family member, and their two dogs inside at the time. The family is doing OK but the tornado left them without a place to stay.
The home had extensive damage around it, with pieces of roofing scattered everywhere and a satellite dish that had been pulled up from the ground. Postcards, furniture, and Christmas decorations could also be seen scattered across the yard.
ABC11 was unable to speak with the family, but a next-door neighbor, identified only as Sam, said the tornado just missed his home.
"Scary and terrifying, being that close to you," Sam said.
Despite the damage, and the pieces still left to pick up, people in the area knew it could have been worse.
"And now what's left is picking up the pieces. And we don't have to pick up the pieces of nobody's life. That's a blessing for us all," said Sampson County Board of Commissioner Lethia Lee.
A second home was also damaged during the tornado. The owners said they were using it as an assisted living facility and that six men lived inside.
The roof was torn off and pieces of it stuck straight out of the ground.
"I could not believe it, the house was completely destroyed," Melissa Merrit said.
Merrit, a volunteer for the home walked an ABC crew through the damage.
"it looks like when the pressure of the roof came out, the glass just blew inward. Um, and then all the bedrooms in the back were destroyed," she said.
Merrit said there was almost always at least one person home at this facility..Miraculously - everyone happened to be out when the storm hit.
God just stepped in at the right moment, at the right time," Merrit said.
Family and community members showed up to help out in the aftermath - while volunteers like Merrit tried to process what happened.
It's a little overwhelming," Merrit said. "(Because) you can actually see the path, and you can ... actually looking to see how the corn is laid over and to know that that's the roof that's over here. It's like it just picked it up and set it down."
More storms like this are possible over the next day or two as Debby pushes through the region.
The strength of the tornado was not immediately known.
