Voice of America
09 Jul 2021, 16:05 GMT+10
SAVANNAH, GEORGIA - Tropical Storm Elsa carved a destructive and soaking path up the East Coast after killing at least one person in Florida and spinning up a tornado at a Georgia Navy base that flipped recreational vehicles upside-down and blew one of them into a lake.
Elsa's winds strengthened Thursday to 85 kph, as the storm dropped heavy rains on parts of North Carolina and Virginia, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in its latest update. Elsa was expected to pass near the eastern mid-Atlantic states by Thursday night and move near or over the northeastern United States on Friday.
No significant change in strength is expected through Friday, and Elsa is forecast to become a post-tropical cyclone by Friday night, the center said.
Tropical storm warnings were in effect along the coast from North Carolina to Massachusetts. There was a chance Long Island in New York would see sustained tropical storm-force winds late Thursday night and into Friday morning, the National Weather Service in New York warned.
The National Weather Service in Morehead City, North Carolina, tweeted that a tornado was spotted near Fairfield on Thursday afternoon. A tornado warning had been issued for Hyde County and surrounding counties.
Elsa seemed to spare Florida from significant damage, though it still threatened flooding downpours and caused several tornado warnings.
Authorities in Jacksonville, Florida, said one person was killed Wednesday when a tree fell and struck two cars. A spokesperson for the Naval Air Force Atlantic Office said Thursday that a sailor assigned to Patrol and Reconnaissance Squadron 16 in Jacksonville was killed.
Kyle Raison walks along the dock at the Sea Hag Marina as scallop rental boats are tied off after Tropical Storm Elsa made landfall nearby on July 7, 2021, in Steinhatchee, Florida.
Forecasters reported 80 kph wind gusts in the city. The tree fell during heavy rains, according to Capt. Eric Prosswimmer of the Jacksonville Fire Rescue Department.
Nine people were injured Wednesday evening in coastal Camden County, Georgia, when a tornado struck a campground for active-duty service members and military retirees at Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base. Eight of those hurt were taken to hospitals, base spokesperson Chris Tucker said. Some have since been released and others were kept for observation, he said.
The EF-2 tornado flipped over multiple RVs, throwing one of the overturned vehicles about 61 meters into a lake, the National Weather Service said in a preliminary report early Thursday after its employees surveyed the damage.
Tucker said about a dozen recreational vehicles at the campground were damaged. Some buildings were also damaged on the base, which is the East Coast hub for the Navy's fleet of submarines armed with nuclear missiles. Tucker said there was no damage to submarines or any other "military assets."
Sergio Rodriguez, who lives near the RV park, said he raced to the scene fearing friends staying at the park might be hurt.
"There were just RVs flipped over on their sides, pickup trucks flipped over, a couple of trailers had been shifted and a couple of trailers were in the water" of a pond on the site, Rodriguez said in a phone interview.
In South Carolina, a Coast Guard Air Station Savannah crew rescued a family that became stranded on Otter Island on Wednesday after their boat drifted off the beach due to Elsa. A man, his wife and daughter, and three cousins were hoisted into a helicopter and taken to Charleston Executive Airport in good health Wednesday night, the Coast Guard said in a news release.
The hurricane center said there was a risk of flooding in South Carolina, which was predicted to get 8 to 13 centimeters of rainfall.
More than 18 centimeters of rain was recorded at a weather station near Gainesville, Florida, the weather service reported.
Scattered power outages were being reported along Elsa's path Thursday afternoon, with about 26,000 homes and businesses without electricity from Florida to Virginia, according to the website poweroutages.us.
Elsa is the earliest fifth-named storm on record, said Brian McNoldy, a hurricane researcher at the University of Miami.
Get a daily dose of Long Beach Star news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Long Beach Star.
More InformationRamon Urias hit a tiebreaking homer with two outs in the sixth inning off Gerrit Cole Monday night, lifting the ...
Patrick Wisdom homered in his fourth consecutive game and Ian Happ continued his domination of the Cincinnati Reds with an ...
Beijing [China], May 24 (ANI): Canada became the second most popular destination after Britain for Hong Kong students going overseas ...
Tokyo [Japan], May 24 (ANI): Highlighting that the Quad's scope has become extensive despite COVID-19 challenges, Prime Minister Narendra Modi ...
Tyler Anderson allowed five hits over eight innings and Freddie Freeman had three hits and drove in two runs to ...
Tokyo [Japan], May 24 (ANI): With a firm eye on the Indo-Pacific region, the meeting of Quadrilateral Dialogue (QUAD) kicked ...
SAN FRANCISCO, California: In a letter released this week, the archbishop of San Francisco, Salvatore Cordileone, said U.S. House Speaker ...
BERLIN, Germany: At least 43 people were injured after a tornado struck the western German city of Paderborn on May ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: The Department of Justice has said that an American citizen and four Chinese intelligence officers have been charged ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: Due to the inability of businesses to hire enough workers, the U.S. has announced that it will grant ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: U.S. senators Elizabeth Warren and Mike Rounds have introduced a bipartisan resolution requesting the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ...
MOSCOW, Russia: According to preliminary data released by the finance ministry this week, almost three months after Moscow's invasion of ...