1 dead, 1 injured, collapse of buildings while Florence remains generate tornadoes in Virginia

An employee at the Old Dominion Flooring warehouse was killed when a tornado caused the building to collapse at around 3:45 pm, Chesterfield County Fire Lieutenant Jason Elmore said in a briefing Monday night.

That would take the toll of Florence to 32, 25 in North Carolina, six in South Carolina and this one in Virginia.

Around 3:30 pm Monday afternoon, a student was struck by lightning at Central Middle School in Charlotte County, Virginia. There was no word on his condition.

Elmore said another warehouse employee – on Speeks Drive at Hull Street in Midlothian, Va. – had been taken to hospital with minor injuries. About 15 employees were in the building when the tornado struck. He added that a passerby was also rushed to the hospital with a medical emergency unrelated to the tornado.

The tornado caused the collapse of a furniture store and damaged roofs and cars in a mall near the warehouse, Elmore said. There was also a gas leak at the mall. Stakeholders were waiting for the utility to cut electricity to the buildings before the leak could be stopped.

Kevin Chevitanon posted a video on Instagram of the scene off Hull Street and wrote: "Ground 0 today.A policeman took me out of the road and pointed at the tornado.People are still in shock.You could feel the air across the street. "

Elmore said three more tornadoes were reported in the area at the same time on Monday. He said damage was done to Hampton Park, Birkdale and Beaver Ridge.

At least 13 tornadoes were reported in Virginia on Monday afternoon, according to the NOAA Storm Prediction Center. Twenty-eight tornado warnings were issued on Monday by the National Weather Service Office in Wakefield, Virginia. The tornado warnings expired at 5:45 pm, but Richmond was hit by another violent storm around 6:30 pm.

The NWS confirmed that a tornado from the EF0 had hit Mecklenburg County shortly after 10:30 am Monday morning. He traveled 9 miles from Boydton to Chase. According to reports, several trees were felled and at least one house was damaged.

Monday afternoon in Chesterfield County, schools on the verge of firing students while the tornadoes occurred rather at the shelter. WTVR reported that some school buses already left were ordered to bring students back to school. Some students were not released until around 6:30 pm Several colleges in the area also canceled evening classes and events.

Many roads have been closed.

More than 9,000 customers were without electricity at 5:15 pm, Dominion Energy Virginia said. Spokesman David Botkins told the Times-Dispatch that there was "significant damage" to poles, transformers and electrical wires.

The Wakefield NWS office has announced plans to send teams from Tuesday to assess the damage and determine the number of tornadoes affected and their odds on the Fujita Enhanced Scale..

The remains of Florence interact with a mass of warm, moist air in place over the central states of the Atlantic Brian Donegan I said. Wind shear – the change in wind speed and / or wind direction with height – is high throughout the region, leading to the development of multiple tornadoes on Monday afternoons.