ORANGEBURG COUNTY, S.C. — The National Weather Service is confirming a powerful EF-3 tornado struck Orangeburg County, where the high winds killed two people living in a home.
The agency surveyed the damage late Monday morning into the afternoon, hours after the twister touched down in the county.
According to the agency, the storm moved through the Preserver Road area near Livingston and Neeses around 6 a.m. Monday.
The storm destroyed a doublewide home there, killing two people. It also injured seven other people living nearby.
The storm could be seen on radar creating a large debris field. It had 140 mile an hour winds, making it an EF-3, which is the third highest rating on the tornado intensity scale.
While it's not known exactly how long it was on the ground, forecasters called it a "long-track" tornado. The agency will continue to survey the area and determine the storm's physical size and how long a path it took.
The South Carolina governor's office said a total of 9 people have died so far from the tornado: 2 in Orangeburg County, 5 in Hampton County, 1 in Oconee County, and 1 in Colleton County.