Roofing company in Socastee, SC

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — The National Weather Service’s survey of Sunday’s Socastee-area tornado shows the EF-1 tornado was on the ground for about four minutes, reaching peak wind of 95 mph.

NWS’s report showed the tornado was on the ground for about four minutes, touching down at 1:16 p.m. It touched down south of Socastee Boulevard between Everette Street and Tyner Street, snapping several large trees and blowing off portions of roofs from mobile homes.

A News13 reporter talked with a member of the survey team early Monday morning who said the tornado with 90 mph winds first touched down in an area near Tyner Street.

News13 meteorologist Frank Johnson said Monday that the tornado appeared to take a northeasterly track, crossing the Intracoastal Waterway and moving across Arrowhead Country Club. It then moved across the former Hard Rock park in Fantasy Harbour, damaging the Waccamaw Mall in the process. It then crossed over Highway 501 and moved through River Oaks Golf Course before lifting.

NWS’s report confirmed that the tornado appeared to lift as it crossed the Intracoastal Waterway before touching down again on the Arrowhead Country Club property. Numerous trees were snapped south of Flintlake Apartments, and tree debris was blown into several apartments, breaking windows and causing moderate roof and siding damage.

NWS officials reached their preliminary conclusion after talking to a resident who provided them with an eyewitness account of what happened and what he experienced. Officials planned to visit other damage sites in Horry County to survey damage from Sunday’s afternoon storm, which caused wind and flooding damage throughout the Grand Strand.

Damage along Palmetto Pointe Boulevard was from straightline winds and not from the tornado, according to the report. The old Waccamaw Mall at Fantasy Harbour also experienced wind damage.

A preliminary report on the peak wind gusts on the Grand Strand and Pee Dee showed a 60 mph gust at Winyah Bay in Georgetown County, according to the National Weather Service office in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Elsewhere, the top wind gusts were 56 at the Springmaid Pier in Horry County, 52 mph in North Myrtle Beach, 48 in Marion, 45 in Myrtle Beach, 43 at the Darlington County Airport, 43 in Georgetown and 38 at the Horry County Airport.

Breezy conditions remained early Monday morning, but Horry County Fire Rescue said that flooding remained an issue and that crews were “still running calls involving vehicles underway.”

Flood warnings continue for the Waccamaw River near Conway and the Little Pee Dee River near Galivants Ferry, according to Horry County Emergency Management officials. The Waccamaw River near Conway water level was still rising Monday morning but expected to crest later in the day at 12 feet, which is at moderate flood stage.

The water level at the Little Pee Dee River near Galivants Ferry is forecast to slowly rise into minor flood stage Tuesday, officials said.

The storm dumped heavy rain and caused coastal and inland flooding all along the Grand Strand from Georgetown to North Myrtle Beach. A tornado spawned by the storm was reported in the Socastee and Forestbrook areas at about 1:20 p.m. Sunday, just moments before National Weather Service officials issued a warning for the Horry County area.

Trees fell on numerous homes across the region, and the Waccamaw Mall in the Fantasy Harbour area was heavily damaged by the wind, which also blew over at least one 18-wheeler on Waccamaw Boulevard and damaged several other vehicles and at a nearby UPS facility.

More than 30,000 Santee Cooper and Horry Electric Cooperative customers were without power at the height of the storm, but as of early Monday morning service had been restored to all but a handful of customers.

Meanwhile, city of Conway officials declared OPCON 1 status, the highest emergency status, late Sunday afternoon, and Horry and Georgetown county schools also switched to an eLearning schedule for Monday because of the storm.

Horry County Schools said late Monday morning that officials had assessed facilities and roads and determined that schools would be operating on a normal schedule on Tuesday.

Huntington Beach State Park also was closed on Monday while crews cleaned up after the storm. Campers checking in will be allowed to enter the park, and the park will reopen for day-use as soon as conditions are safe, officials said.

This is a developing story. Count on News13 for continued coverage.

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — Reports of storm damage are coming in from across the Grand Strand in the aftermath of Sunday afternoon’s storm.

The National Weather Service has confirmed a tornado briefly touched down in the Socastee and Forestbrook area shortly before a tornado warning was issued at 1:25 p.m. So far, the heaviest damage is being reported along Socastee Boulevard and Palmetto Pointe.

Several roads across the area are blocked, and many trees have been knocked down, including one that fell on a house in the Village Drive area off Soastee Boulevard. The American Red Cross is assisting the family.

In Conway, the city council met Sunday afternoon in an emergency meeting and moved the city to OPCON 1, the highest of three emergency designations that means a disaster or emergency is imminent or occurring. Crews from the city are currently responding to multiple road closures and incidents caused by flash flooding.

“We are asking residents to please avoid driving on the roads at this time,” a city spokesperson said.” As evening approaches it may become difficult to see water covering the roads, please use caution. Barricades are being placed in reported areas of the City that roads are not passable. Please obey the barricades and do not drive through flooded roads.”

The city will be posting a road closure report on its Facebook page and website, the spokesperson said.

The high winds caused substantial damage to the Waccamaw Mall in the Fantasy Harbor area, scattering debris all along the front of the building. News13 meteorologist Scotty Powell also reported that a tractor-trailer rolled onto its side and that several UPS vehicles were damaged in the Fantasy Harbor area.

High water was also at least partially surrounding some homes in the Cherry Grove area of North Myrtle Beach.

Video courtesy of Rick Comfort

Many street lights across the region are not working, and, as of about 4 p.m., the power was still out for about 23,500 Santee Cooper and Horry Electric Cooperative customers.

High water and flooding have also been a concern from Pawelys Island north along the Grand Strand. High water was causing problems along Waccamaw Boulevard in Garden City and Myrtle Avenue in Pawleys Island, and countless retention ponds have been at or near capacity all along the Grand Strand because of the large amount of rain produced by the storm.

A flash flood warning remains in effect for southern and western parts of Horry County until 5:15 p.m., including Murrells Inlet, Garden City and Surfside Beach, according to the National Weather Service in Wilmington, North Carolina.

The storm is also affecting at least one school district in the region. The Georgetown School District has moved to an eLearning day on Monday, with all schools and facilities closed. Students and parents will get instructions about assignments from their schools.

If conditions allow, athletic practices and competitions might resume at 3:30 p.m. on Monday, the district said. Student-athletes are encouraged to coordinate with their coaches for specific details.

Officials said the district expects to return to normal operations on Tuesday.

* * *

Dennis Bright is a Digital Producer at News13. He joined the team in May 2021. Dennis is a West Virginia native and a graduate of Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. Follow Dennis on, Facebook, X, formerly Twitter, and read more of his work here.

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WPDE) — Beloved Socastee High School basketball coach Derrick Hilton passed away peacefully with his family Sunday night. He was diagnosed with stage 4 renal cancer in October 2022.

"Now I see him, I see him in heaven playing basketball, coaching. I see him there playing basketball. I woke up this morning seeing him," said Debra Q. Brooks, Coach Hilton's mother.

When he was diagnosed, the community stepped in to help. Students, staff and a local church all raised money for his medical expenses.

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"He had a heart of gold. Even when he took his last breath, he still was determined and he was always concerned about everybody else. He always put himself last, always," Brooks said.

"Every now and then you have someone come along that's above the norm. He was above the above," said Derrick Hilton, Coach Hilton's father.

His parents said he had a passion for basketball at a very young age.

"We didn't have a basketball hoop. He would take a milk crate and put in on a pole and play ball," Brooks said.

Coach Hilton dreamed about making it to the NBA and played his entire academic career.

He never made it to the big leagues, but he found an even better gig as the coach for the Socastee High School men's varsity basketball team.

"He always said he wanted to be a coach at the high school where he went, so he was blessed to have that. A blessing to do that," Brooks said.

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Coach Hilton was also the Los Angeles Lakers' self-proclaimed number-one fan.

"As I was whispering in his ear talking to him and saying it's okay for you to move on. I said now you get a chance to play for Kobe. And he just breathed a chuckle," Coach Hilton's father said.

Hilton was a man of many titles, a coach, a guidance counselor, but the one most special to him; a family man.

"I'm just so proud of him. He's an awesome man, awesome son, brother, uncle. I'm just so thankful the lord blessed me with 43 years with him. I couldn't ask for a better son," Brooks said.

SOCASTEE — Socastee’s historic swing bridge is expected to reopen to traffic by June 20, capping a whirlwind repair effort needed after a fatal crash damaged the 88-year-old structure.

The bridge was about three minutes into its opening sequence on June 12 when a Kia Rio crashed through two security gates, vaulted into the air and slammed into a truss. The impact damaged a load-bearing piece of the bridge.

“It’s harder (to fix) because of the member that got struck,” said Rob Perry, the S.C. Department of Transportation’s chief engineer for bridges. “It’s not as simple as just unbolting and pulling something out. … That’s been really the challenge.”

Since the day of the crash, DOT crews and private contractors have rushed to restore access to the state’s second-busiest moveable bridge, one that sees about 16,000 vehicles on a typical day.

The damage required crews to saw off rivets that were nearly a century old and haul a 7,000-pound piece of steel across the state.

1 dead, Socastee bridge closed after car plunges into Intracoastal Waterway

Little information has been released about what led to the crash, which the S.C. Highway Patrol is investigating.

Authorities said 23-year-old Demeatrius Chandler Jr. was heading west on Dick Pond Road just before 11:40 a.m. when the Myrtle Beach area man’s vehicle suddenly took off toward the bridge.

Adjustable security gates stand on each side of the swing bridge, to be lowered when it opens and keep cars out of the Intracoastal Waterway.

The 2021 Rio tore through both sets of gates before going airborne and hitting the bridge, authorities said. The car then plunged into the waterway. A dive team recovered Chandler’s body.

Socastee bridge expected to close for a week following deadly crash

After the crash, the repair was put on hold while Highway Patrol troopers did their investigative work.

Once the DOT was able to begin assessing the damage, inspections continued from late June 12 until the following morning. By early June 14, the state had a draft plan for fixing the bridge and officials were on site working with an engineering firm and a contractor to finalize any details.

The DOT has an agreement for engineering work on its seven moveable bridges and high-level structures, such as the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge over the Cooper River. But the state also has the ability to sign an emergency contract for unexpected repairs, such as the one in Socastee.

DOT spokeswoman Kelly Moore said the agency didn’t have an estimate yet for the total cost of the Socastee bridge work.

DOT officials said several factors have made this repair challenging. Aging rivets connecting the mangled metal had to be sawed off and forced back out to allow the damaged piece to be removed.

“Rivets aren’t the easiest thing to take out,” Perry said. “It’s not like a bolt where you just take the nut off.”

The DOT also has to coordinate with the U.S. Coast Guard to open the bridge at key times for marine traffic. The bridge is staffed by an operator who works in a room atop the structure. As vessels approach, boaters call ahead and ask the operator to swing the bridge open. The process takes about 12 minutes and the bridge turns like a deadbolt, completely perpendicular to the road and ready for boats to pass.

At the Coast Guard’s request, the bridge opened for a barge that came through on the evening of June 16. The following day also presented a challenge to workers because of busy boat traffic. On a typical Father’s Day weekend, the Socastee bridge opens nearly 20 times each day.

But perhaps the greatest obstacle was securing the support piece necessary to complete the repair. The DOT needed a heavy piece of steel, known as a strongback, to connect to the bridge with tension rods and support the structure while workers replace the damaged piece.

This strongback came from Savannah, Georgia. It had to be cut specifically for this repair and holes were drilled into it to attach the rods. DOT even needed a special permit to transport the roughly 7,000-pound strongback to Socastee.

Because of the busy boating weekend, DOT crews planned to wait until 10 p.m. on June 17 to shut off the area to marine traffic. That’s when they expected to hook up the strongback and finish replacing the damaged section of the bridge.

They hoped to complete most of the critical work overnight and into the following morning, though they said there’s always the potential for an unforeseen delay. The plan is to have the bridge open to traffic by June 20.

Apart from its transportation function, the swing bridge is a key piece of Socastee’s history.

Built in 1935 during the country’s bridge boom, its construction signified the completion of the Intracoastal Waterway.

The bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2002 as part of a historic district that included two houses, a store and a pecan grove, according to the S.C. Department of Archives and History. The Cooper House, a popular venue for weddings and birthday parties, dates back to 1908 while the Cooper Store (1905) and the Sarvis House (1881) go back further.

The community even holds a festival at the bridge each April to celebrate Socastee’s heritage. The festival stretches three-quarters of a mile and typically draws thousands.

“Bridge day is a crazy day,” said Ryan Smith, a Conway High science teacher who works summers at Island Adventure Watersports, a jet ski rental business beside the bridge. “They shut down for the day. They can’t run anything on bridge day because they close the road.”

Since the crash, Smith said the business has received calls from customers asking whether it’s open. He’s told them the road on the western side of the bridge is still accessible to local traffic even while the bridge is closed for repairs.

“The majority of people, like locals, actually know what happened,” he said. “A lot of our out-of-town clientele have asked why it’s closed.”

He said the bridge itself is normally a draw anyway.

“We get a ton of walk-up people that come to take pictures of the bridge and they ask about it,” he said.

Dennis Courtney stopped by to watch the construction on June 16. He had come to River City Café next door for lunch and wanted to see how the work was progressing.

Courtney moved to Horry County from Texas about three years ago and he occasionally stops by the bridge to watch the black water of the ICW. The color is a change from the brown rivers he’s accustomed to. In recent days, he’s read comments on Facebook from some folks questioning the need for old blue swing bridge, but he’s also seen locals highlight its importance.

“There’s a lot of other people that have lived here all their lives,” he said. “And they said you people don’t realize how much history there is with the bridge, how it’s a part of the community.”

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