MOREHEAD CITY (AP) — A team from the National Weather Service is trying to determine if a storm that struck the southeastern coast of North Carolina Tuesday night was a tornado.
At least three people suffered minor injuries.
A tornado watch in the area expired at 8 a.m. Wednesday.
“A storm survey crew is out there now. It’s going to take a little time this morning. We’ve gotten plenty of reports of structural damage,” meteorologist Lara Pagano with the weather service office in Morehead City said Wednesday.
Atlantic Beach officials say two people suffered minor injuries when the roof blew off their condominium. Two of the four buildings in the complex were damaged, manager Robert Allsbrook said. As many as 15 people were in the condos when the storm hit.
Carteret Community College in Morehead City canceled classes Wednesday because of storm damage. One student was hit by flying debris but was not seriously injured.
The school plans to reopen Monday after the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
The college’s student center was damaged, as was the building used for basic law enforcement training.
“We took quite a hit,” said Joe Rufra, training director.
“Right now we are closing the campus to only essential workers involved in recovery and clean up,” said school president Kerry Youngblood. “Safety is our main concern. There’s a lot of debris and some power lines are down.”
Minor damage was reported at Carteret General Hospital in Morehead City. The hospital was fully functional had not diverted any patients. The hospital said it mobilized its emergency disaster team.
The Crystal Coast Civic Center suffered window damage.
Trees and power lines are down in the area. More than 1,000 people in Atlantic Beach lost power in the storm. Most have had their electricity restored.
At one time, Duke Energy Progress reported about 6,000 customers without service in Carteret County. At least 500 customers were still without service Wednesday morning.
Atlantic Beach Fire chief Adam Snyder said the damage is the worst he’s seen in his 16 years in the area.
“It almost looks like something you’d see on the news in the Midwest,” Snyder told WITN-TV.
Two buildings were damaged at the Island Beach Racquet Club and three people were evacuated from the damaged buildings.
The National Weather Service has a gale warning in effect until 7 p.m. and a wind advisory in effect until 11 a.m..