Lowcountry residents were forced to evacuate their houses as severe weather brought about by a tornado and strong thunderstorms passed through Bryan, Effingham and Chatham counties in Georgia, Wednesday evening.
A tornado warning was issued by the National Weather Service at around 5 p.m. Shortly thereafter, a report from Fort Stewart said that a tornado is heading northeast at a speed of 35 mph. Structural damages to houses lay in the tornado's path. Power was cut off because power lines were downed by the strong winds.
Kevin Larson, Fort Stewart spokesman said trees were downed and vehicles were damaged by the tornado. Some buildings were destroyed as well. The extent of the damage was not immediately assessed, but Larson said no injuries were reported by the residents.
Fort Stewart is the biggest Army post located in the east of Mississippi River. Most of the land area it occupies is uninhabited forestland. Tornado warnings were issued for the three counties located west of Savannah.
The storm and tornado that went through Georgia were part of a weather system extending from the Gulf Coast up to the Great Lakes.
Larson reported that the tornado lashed around the Army installation, but luckily there were no reported injuries. But there are damages that were sustained by around 40 to 50 people in Hinesville who are now living in emergency housing facilities.
Soldiers took shelter on the on-base hotel, as well as civilians whose homes were destroyed.
Officials at Fort Stewart said that the Diamond Elementary School will be closed on Thursday. The rest of the installation will be opened at normal operating hours.
"Most of the power has been restored," said Larson on Wednesday. "No injuries were reported and we're very thankful. We're going to continue to assess the damage in the daylight and we're (looking) at two to three days of a recovery operation," he added.
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