'It was deathly quiet'

By Steve Lawson
News Editor

Bob Wyatt and other members of the town staff listened closely to updates on the path of the tornado from an emergency services scanner in the main office of Stoneville Town Hall on March 20, 1998.
“From the path it seemed to be taking, we were beginning to believe it could be a real threat to us,” Wyatt said.
About that time, a man delivering water in the area entered town hall and warned Wyatt and the others to take cover immediately because the tornado was headed toward them. Everyone in the building took shelter in a large safe used for document storage.
“As soon as we were secure in the vault, it hit,” Wyatt said. “Thirty seconds later, it was deathly quiet.”
When everyone exited the safe and began to check for damage, they soon discovered they were trapped in the building by debris blocking the doors.
“Thank goodness the delivery guy left his truck and came in to warn us,” Wyatt said. “The storm sent a 2-by-4 right through his truck.”
Wyatt said his first reaction after looking at the devastation was total shock. He was instantly frightened by what might have happened to the town’s residents.
“Something like that lets you know real fast that you’re not in control of what happens,” he said.
When enough debris was cleared from the doorway at Town Hall, Wyatt walked to Henry Street and saw the destruction to the town’s downtown.
“It looked just like a war zone,” he said. “There was rubble and debris everywhere.”
Turning to look north up the street toward his home, Wyatt expected to see it leveled. The coin-operated laundry was destroyed and the hair salon was damaged, but there appeared to be little damage to the homes beyond those buildings.
“It still baffles me how some things were destroyed and others left untouched or with little damage,” Wyatt said. “It’s hard to comprehend how random something like that can be.”
Within hours of the 3:35 p.m. tornado strike, advance teams from the N.C. State Emergency Response Team arrived to begin search-and-rescue operations. Search teams with cadaver dogs worked through the first night checking through the sites of fallen buildings.
“The dogs alerted several times at the site of the Laundromat, but, thankfully, it turned out to be just clothes,” Wyatt said. “There was no one in the building when it collapsed.”
Wyatt remains amazed at the number of agencies that immediately came to the town’s aid. In addition to SERT crews, there were troopers from the State Highway Patrol and N.C. National Guard personnel to handle security and man roadblocks until the debris could be cleared enough to reopen roads through downtown. A Highway Patrol helicopter was dispatched to help with early damage assessments.
The Salvation Army, American Red Cross and Baptist Men brought in mobile canteens and kitchens to help feed residents and emergency workers.
“Duke Power crews seemed to be on the scene as soon as it happened,” Wyatt said. “They started working away from the center of town and worked their way into town to restore the power as quickly as possible,” Wyatt said. “And DOT was there within hours to start helping get the damaged roads repaired and reopened.”
Wyatt said the overwhelming aid offered by so many still amazes him. In retrospect, he wonders how he could have handled the aftermath without them.
“The one thing that stands out now is the very totality of the destruction to the heart of the town,” he said. “That first day, the guy heading up the emergency team told me not to worry about anything, that they had everything under control.
“It seems they try not to let the people most affected by these tragedies make the important decisions because they realize the kind of stress and shock they’re already dealing with in the aftermath.”
Wyatt said he and other town officials worked alongside emergency personnel throughout the next day, getting only about three or four hours sleep since the tornado hit. They started back to work again early Sunday morning.
“Most all of us stopped and went to the 11 o’clock service at First Baptist that morning,” Wyatt said. “We just stopped what we were working on and walked into church. It really helped us get some perspective on where we were and what we were doing.”
Ten years later, Wyatt still has occasional flashbacks about that day.
“They just come from out of the blue,” he said. “That day has really changed the way a lot of us view weather alerts. It’s like we’re always anxious about something like that happening again.”

News Editor Steve Lawson can be reached at slawson@reidsvillereview.com or at 548-6047.