Storm leaves several properties damaged

By Kelly Gillespie
Reporter
Published: August 3, 2008

Several areas in the Pee Dee spent Sunday cleaning up after Saturday night’s storms.

Darlington County in particular was hit hard; in fact the National Weather Service was out Sunday afternoon surveying damage.

Officials said the Sunbeam Bread Company located on Highway 52 in Darlington County had $500,000 worth of damage.

The building’s roof was completely ripped off.

Sunday workers were out cleaning up, and in the meantime the chamber of commerce is trying to find them a temporary building.

Several houses are located near the sunbeam plant.

Just a few feet away, you could tell by looking around the Gandy family’s yard that Saturday night was more than just an ordinary storm.

Trees were up-rooted, power lines were down and several things were misplaced.

Rhonda Gandy said the most disheartening thing was something in her father in-laws yard that you can’t miss.

Winds threw the Sunbeam building roof 100 yards over, and it landed in Hobson Gandy’s yard.

“I’m looking at that big steal frame and thinking about how it could have just come straight into his house,” Rhonda Gandy, family’s property damaged by storm, said.

Rhonda said she lives right across the street, but because of the weather Saturday night she felt worlds apart from her in-laws.

“All the power was out so there was no lights going on all I could see is it looked like his porch was gone and his roof on this side and thank god it wasn’t,” Rhonda said.

Hobson said he and his wife slept right through the storm.

“I woke up come out the back door and look all of it gone,” Hobson Gandy, property damaged by storm, said.

While his yard may now look like a nightmare, his house was left virtually untouched by the storm.

“We’re relieved they’re not hurt. Nobody around here was hurt so I’m really relieved nothing’s so bad that it can be fixed,” Rhonda said.

Anyone in Darlington County that has significant storm damage and needs help can call Emergency Preparedness at either 389-4450 or 616-1238.