Tornado spawned by Debby kills 1 person, damages buildings in Wilson County, NC

Adam Wagner

August 8, 2024 at 12:53 p.m.·1 min read

A tornado that spun out of Tropical Storm Debby early Thursday killed one person and damaged several structures, including a middle school and a church.

Wilson County officials confirmed that one person was killed by a tornado that struck a home near Lucama. The person’s identity was not immediately available.

Tropical Storm Debby made a second landfall overnight in South Carolina, with bands of heavy rain spreading across Eastern North Carolina. The storm also generated several tornadoes, with the National Weather Service issuing several warnings for Wilson County between about 2 a.m. and 6 a.m.

Images taken overnight showed that part of the front of Springfield Middle School had been torn away.

“The impact appears to be focused on the 6th and 7th grade halls where sections of the roof and walls are missing or compromised,” Lane Mils, the Wilson County Schools superintendent wrote in a Facebook message.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

This story was produced with financial support from the Hartfield Foundation and Green South Foundation, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners, as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The N&O maintains full editorial control of the work. If you would like to help support local journalism, please consider signing up for a digital subscription, which you can do here.

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