Tropical Depression Debby on Thursday moved through central and eastern North Carolina, bringing torrential rain, flooding and tornadoes.
According to the National Weather Service, at least two tornadoes touched down or near Franklin County. They were among the six tornadoes that touched down Thursday across the state.
Epsom resident Michelle Riley said she hunkered down in her bathroom as one of the tornadoes rolled through the town earlier in the afternoon.
“I was scared to death,” she said. “I have never been in anything like this in my life.”
Riley said she hid in her bathroom as the debris swirled around her home outside.
“I laid on the bathroom floor on my stomach and I was bracing myself because I didn’t know if anything was going to come on top of me or not,” she said.
Debby tore through Franklin County, bringing down trees and destroying homes. It wasn’t the only area hit hard by tornadoes. In Wilson County, a tornado stripped apart a middle school and killed a man as it moved over his home.
In total, there were 29 warnings Thursday across central North Carolina. Of the 29 warnings, eight of them were in Franklin County.
“A lot of damage we’ve been seeing across the county has been mainly vegetative. Trees and limbs down, and with it, power lines,” said Nicholas Thorpe with Franklin County Emergency Management. “It’s really scary when stuff like that happens.”
According to Thorpe, no one was injured in Franklin County during the storm, but many in the county remain anxious about what happened.
“I could really kiss the ground right now,” Riley said.
While the worst of Debby is out of the way, there will still be flooding risks for a few days. Residents said they remain thankful that no one got hurt, saying their damaged belongings are replaceable.
“All that matters at the end of the day is everybody’s still here,” Adam Wood said. “No one got hurt.”
