LUMBERTON — No one was injured, but more than 10,000 power outages were reported in Robeson County after a fast-moving storm system roared through the area mid-morning Monday.
The southwest portion of the county was hit hardest, said Emily Jones, county government spokesperson. Several large power lines were knocked down and many structures were damaged by falling trees.
But there were no injuries and no deaths, she said. And there were no confirmed tornadoes in Robeson County.
Three tornadoes were confirmed in North Carolina, according to the National Weather Service office in Wilmington.
One was in Columbus County, and it left a 1/2-mile track that started southeast of Whiteville, according to the NWS. The tornado packed a maximum wind speed 110 mph.
Another tornado, with a maximum wind speed of 107 mph, struck southeast of Currie in Pender County. And one was confirmed in Oak Island. That tornado’s maximum wind speed was recorded at 60 mph.
Still, area fire departments were busy in the wake of the storm system.
Between 5:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. fire departments throughout the county responded to a total of 66 storm-related calls, Jones said.
A total of 8,931 Lumbee River Electric Membership Corporation members/customers lost power as a result of the storm, said Walter White, vice president of Corporate Services. In Robeson County, 5,440 lost power; in Hoke County, 1,474; Cumberland, 1,428; and 589 in Scotland County. As of mid-afternoon, LREMC crews were trying to restore power to 1,373 members/customers in Robeson County, 18 in Hoke County, 17 in Cumberland and 67 in Scotland.
The Corporation anticipated having service restored to all by late Monday evening, White said.
“We had a total of 14 broken poles that we are having to replace,” he said. “The majority of the damage occurred in the Red Springs area. Seven of the broken poles were along N.C. 211.”
The storm knocked out power to about 4,200 Duke Energy customers in Robeson County, said Grace Rountree, company spokesperson. As of mid-afternoon, 2,116 still were without power.
The fast-moving storm system dumped as average of 3/4 of an inch of rain on Robeson County, according to the NWS office in Wilmington. A wind gust of 49 mph was recorded at The University of North Carolina at Pembroke and a gust of 47 mph was recorded at Lumberton Regional Airport.
The line of severe thunderstorms is being blamed for at least one death in North Carolina.
A 61-year-old woman in Lexington was killed when a tree fell into her bedroom, according to the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office. A man who also was in the bedroom suffered minor injuries. The identities of the man and the woman have not been released.
