Raleigh – Rain, high wind gusts, and hail ravaged the Raleigh area on Saturday afternoon. On Monday, area residents are still feeling the effects of the tornado that surged through the town on Saturday afternoon. Many areas surrounding the campus area suffered damaged.
The area of Raleigh that was impacted the most during the Tornado was the South Saunders area near Western Blvd. and I-40 close to the downtown area. As of Sunday afternoon, the South Saunders and McDowell ramps, as well as exit 298B towards Downtown Raleigh were blocked off by police cars and highway patrolmen.
There were power outages that occurred on campus mainly on Centennial and areas south of main campus. Women Empowering Society Together and the NC State Chapter of Collegiate 100 were forced to cancel an event that was previously scheduled to take place on Saturday night in the Textiles Convocation Room due to the the outage. Progress Energy was able to restore power in the area today around 2:00 PM.
As of this moment, many Raleigh residents are still without power and are uncertain when power will return. Many stoplights in the Raleigh area are still out, and police are warning drivers to avoid going downtown if at all possible. Drivers must give vehicles to their right the “right of way” if the respective car reaches the intersection first.
Shaw University and St. Augustine’s college are included in sites which received damage from the storm. Several dorms on the campus of Shaw were structurally damaged, as well as the Willie Gary Student Union which houses the school’s cafeteria. Classes for the university have been canceled for the remainder of the semester. Students there will receive grades based on current performance to date.
President Irma McClaurin plans to meet with experts to examine the destruction to determine if it will be possible for Shaw to hold summer classes or online classes. As of Sunday afternoon, the power was still out at St. Augustine’s college and classes have been canceled for Monday.
Three children, 3 year old Kevin Coronado, 8 year old Osvaldo Coronado, and 9 year old Daniel Quistan Nino were killed in their homes. A fourth 6 month old child remains in critical condition.22 fatalities have been reported in the state of North Carolina (in the counties of Bertie, Bladen, Cumberland, Harnett, Johnston, Lee, and Wake counties). Early reports state that more than 60 homes been destroyed and 400 were damaged.
The Red Cross is working hard to open shelters around the state and, the organization is asking residents for any assistance they can offer during the crisis.
