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Saturday, November 15, 2008 1:44 PM Lucama hit by tornado By Antonio Velarde | Times Staff Writer LUCAMA - It was before dawn when Esther Wells felt it. Wells, 88, said that just before 4 a.m. her single-wide trailer on Oak Street suddenly began shaking, knocking pictures off the walls, as something sounding like hail began to pummel the roof. "It sounded like hail, but it wasn't hail," Wells said. Wells frantically grabbed a flashlight while searching her home for her slippers before a neighbor across the street got her out of her home. Hours later, friends and family were helping to remove and discard the top of a tree that had crashed down on one side of her mobile home after a tornado passed through the town. Betty Lamm, her daughter, said they have dealt with hurricanes and floods in the past, "but as far as Mama's place, everything's been fine." She said Wells will be staying with a relative. Town officials and residents said the damage to Lucama was mostly trees and limbs falling on homes. A power outage kept many in the dark for hours. Ty Davis, who works with the town's water department, said Black Creek municipal employees were helping the town with clean-up and power restoration efforts. He said most of what he has seen is homes damaged by fallen trees and power outages, with most of the damage being confined to areas including Hill and Spring streets off U.S. 301. "That's where I've seen most of the damage," he said, adding he did not know the extent of damage beyond the town. Jeremy Paul, who lives on Spring Street, said he was in his home with his girlfriend and child when the storm hit. He said he and his family went into the kitchen where there are no windows to get to a safe place. A large tree near his property landed on his home, he said. "It hit so hard that it knocked my pictures off the wall," he said. Outside, the storm "sounded like a train without a horn." While no one was hurt at his house, Paul said the storm caused about $15,000 worth of damage to the home. He and his family are staying at his girlfriend's home in Kenly. Friends and family of Paul were helping to cut limbs that had fallen on his home, while across the street others were helping to rake up limbs and other litter that had fallen into Charles Pate's yard. Pate and others who were helping to clean said everyone in the area had been pitching in to help neighbors who had seen heavy damage to their homes. James Taylor said the tornado just missed his home on Spring Street. "It's like God was holding his hands on me," he said. Taylor could not see the early morning storm, but could see a gray blur of air moving as he watched the scene unfold. Pate acknowledged the town was luckier than others in the area. "Lucama's fortunate," he said. avelarde@wilsontimes.com | 265-7868 |
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