Cherryville under a state of emergency following damaging storms

CHERRYVILLE, N.C. (WBTV) - The City of Cherryville is working to restore power and address the damage caused by severe storms that hit the region on Tuesday night.

Mayor of Cherryville H.L. Beam said the damage is significant and the city is currently under a state of emergency after dozens of people were displaced and one person was injured.

“One injury to a civilian was reported with non-life-threatening injuries and since then he has been released from the hospital and is doing fine. The majority of the damage was [caused by] trees that had fallen on structures and it also downed a lot of our power lines,” he said.

Efforts are ongoing to assess and repair the damages and the city is receiving help from others across the region.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the National Weather Service is still conducting its survey of the damage with an official report on the way soon.

The NWS said that based on the damage it has seen so far, it looks like Cherryville experienced straight-line wind damage.

“Over 100 personnel from multiple agencies have assisted us and they are Gaston County, Cleveland County’s Lincoln County, Mecklenburg County, surrounding fire departments, state and other public service agencies, including Red Cross and the Gaston County Republican Party,” Beam said.

Right now it is not known if the damage came from a tornado but that determination is likely going to be made later today.

“Our National Weather Service will be on the scene shortly to assist and to declare whether this was actually a microburst or some form of a tornado. Damage assessments are ongoing at this time. We have approximately 55 structures that have been damaged, but that number will continue to change,” Beam said.

Emergency workers and town officials are asking people to give workers space to do their jobs and restore power, and make repairs as quickly as possible.

“I would say it’s the closest thing to Hugo that I have seen it. There’s damage everywhere, it was not just in one single area,” he said.

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