Tornado confirmed on Georgia's coast

EFFINGHAM, Ga. — A storm system that injured seven people and caused property damage on Georgia’s coast was an EF-2 tornado, the National Weather Service said Friday afternoon.

The tornado stretched 9 miles southeast of Bulloch County eastward to Effingham County, the NWS reported after sending a survey team to the areas Thursday.

An EF-2 designation means wind speeds between 111 and 135 mph, the NWS said.

Four homes were destroyed when the tornado ripped through the Stilson area of Bulloch about 4 a.m.

The hardest hit areas were along Old River Road South and Lillie Hagan Road, said Ted Wynn, director of Bulloch County Public Safety and the Emergency Management Agency.

The tornado caused power outages, knocked down trees and forced Bulloch County school buses to stop service in the Old River Road and Lillie Hagan Road areas due to road blockages.

Roads are clear now, Wynn said.

“Volunteer help is coming in to assist with any unmet needs of the families,” he said.

Immediately following the tornado, one person was flown to a hospital in Savannah with serious injuries, and six others were driven to East Georgia Regional Medical Center in Statesboro, public safety officials said in a Facebook post Thursday.

The tornado destroyed a pump house, damaged homes and sent trees and power lines down in Effingham’s Pineora community, according to multiple reports.

The recent storm damage comes less than three weeks after an EF-3 tornado hit Albany and other parts of South Georgia, caused more than $100 million in damage and killed 16 people.

Cox Media Group