13/April/2020 – Tornados/Severe Weather Event – “C” and “A” Shifts 

Incident # Multiple – Colleton County experienced a severe weather event Monday morning 13-April with several tornados and wide spread damage that reached from Islandton to Edisto Beach. The storm system moved through several states and entered South Carolina late Sunday and early Monday. Tornados struck Hampton County before reaching Colleton and began in Islandton, then touched down in central Walterboro, before moving through Cottageville and Edisto Beach then exiting to Charleston and Dorchester Counties. The rest of the State suffered damage as well. The event lasted several hours with high winds and heavy rain damaging homes and blocking roadways. There were 139 reports of damage to structures with 24 involving trees on homes. Three had reports of people trapped in the buildings, resulting in one fatality. A two year girl was rescued alive from one of the homes. At the peak, there were 12,000 reported power outages with 33 roads closed including Interstate 95 near the 55 mile marker. A tractor trailer truck was overturned due to high winds. The Lowcountry Regional Airport receive extensive damage as well as the City Maintenance Shop on Robertson Blvd and several buildings in the downtown area. The community pulled together supporting one another and cleared streets and removed debris. State, County and City workers used a variety of equipment to clear roads, while Power Company crews spent the entire day restoring power. By midnight, power had been restored to nearly 10,000 homes and businesses and most roads were passable. Crews continued to work through Tuesday. Most Fire-Rescue units were tied up for several hours and the off going shift was held over for four hours to assist with handling responses.