‘Just stacked all them cars’: Tornado cause damage at Loris High School
About 10 cars were damaged after a tornado touched down at Loris High School Monday.
“I’m just glad no students got hurt,” Loris Police chief Gary Buley said.
Storms moved through Horry County on Monday, mostly leaving puddles in their wake. Loris, though, had the worst of the damage with the tornado. National Weather Service officials confirmed a EF-1 tornado in the area, with winds of about 90 miles per hour.
Police and fire crews responded to the school around 1 p.m. for the reported damage. The most significant was from cars tossed in the wind, with one Lexus being carried about 100 feet.
Delane Gilchrist’s son’s was the Lexus carried about 100 feet. Gilchrist said he found out about the situation from other parents and never expected a tornado to destroy their vehicle.
“I guess I need to call insurance,” he said. “I wanted him to keep it for a long time.”
There was also damage to the tennis courts, but Horry County Schools spokeswoman Lisa Bourcier said the school’s building was unharmed. The district notified parents of the “wind event” shortly after the storm.
Buley said police were on scene and evaluating to make sure there was no other damage from the storm.
Loris area resident Johnny Lee said he didn’t hear or see the tornado and went to the school after the storm. He added the damage was mostly confined to school property.
“It just stacked all them cars on top of each other,” Lee said.
This story was originally published January 13, 2020 at 1:16 PM.
