Aiken, SC – Sunday April 21st saw some of the most active weather of the 2015 severe weather season.
By the early evening, three tornadoes had touched down. One of these tornadoes remained on the ground for an extended period of time and passed right through the city of Aiken. The National Weather Service rated this tornado an EF-2 on the Enhanced Fujita scale in light of the extensive damage it caused.
“We had a lot of powerlines down, trees down, and then when we got to looking into some of the harder-hit neighborhoods, we realized there was some structural damage with trees on some houses.” says Paul Matthews, Aiken County’s Interim Emergency Management Coordinator. Two days after the event and the cleanup continues, especially for those living in the hard-hit community of Hidden Haven on the south side of Aiken.
“We have been working with our other partners such as Red Cross, Salvation Army, and also Southern Baptist who, at the moment, has some, I believe, some chainsaw crews out and about, and they’re also doing more assessments.” says Matthews.
The weather has quieted down significantly since Sunday’s tornadoes, but Matthews says you should always be weather aware and know where to seek shelter in the event of severe weather. “The safest place to be is the most interior room on the lowest level of your house without windows. Up under a stairwell that has no windows, if it’s closed in like a small closet, is an excellent place.”
This is the first major event to occur since the new Aiken County EOC opened up this past January off of University Parkway.
