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Residents on Lake Murray are picking up the pieces following Tuesday's EF1 tornado

One home was destroyed when a 100-foot tree came crashing down

Families in Chapin are still reeling from the havoc wreaked by an EF-1 tornado that tore through the region two days ago. 

"It destroyed more than I thought because it didn't fall on the house directly and stick in the roof, but it nearly ripped off that whole...that's a lot of damage," says Harry Crosby, Lake Murray resident. 

Crosby lives just feet away from a house destroyed by the tornado.

"I was standing in the sunroom, the storm was picking up and I was just enjoying the wind, but then it got to the point where I was afraid to be in the sunroom," he said.

Moments later, visibility plummeted as sheets of rain engulfed the area. "The wind was making all kinds of noise; if it wasn't in these circumstances, it was enjoyable. Nature is a magnificent thing," Crosby added.

Trees were toppled, and power lines snapped like toothpicks, leaving residents without power for up to 10 hours. 

Despite the challenges, the community is coming together to clean up the debris and restore normalcy.

   

Karla Miller lives with her family in the home crushed by the tornado. 

"We were about 30 minutes setting my daughter up for E-Learning when it started. It was scary," she says. 

Miller describes her grandmother's harrowing experience as the tornado pushed her inside, "By the time I got to her, she was covered head to toe in debris and missing a shoe,". 

The Miller family home, once filled with cherished memories, now stands battered and bruised. 

Tree limbs now sit where family members once gathered, and walls appear to be caving in.

"The roof is caved in and there's a couple walls coming in, that's where grandma used to stay, sleep, and hang out so she lost that for right now, so the roof and the walls are pretty much caved in," Miller adds. 

As rain is expected in the coming days, concerns grow about the stability of Grandma's room, "It's a little concerning; hopefully, the tarp will hold. We're a little concerned as well because we don't have power as is, so I don't know if power will be restored," Miller expressed.

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