State Of Emergency Issued In Hickory Following Storms

Marvin Beach,

The Latest:

A state of emergency has been issued for Hickory after storms caused severe damage to the city.  The mayor, Jeff M. Cline, issued the state of emergency.

At this time, no curfew has been imposed.  However, a curfew may be imposed at a later time if deemed necessary.

Original Story:

HICKORY, NC – Storms, including possible tornadoes, Monday afternoon left trees down and power out in parts of Hickory

Planes and cars were flipped over at the Hickory Regional Airport, and there is damage in nearby neighborhoods.

At a gas station on Highway 321, employees and customers hid in a beer cooler to stay safe.

“We heard the windows you know and the doors shaking and every thing, so we all got scared. It was three other men with me, and they were scared for their life too,” says employee Deria Evans.

A tree crashed down on an SUV on 12th Ave Ln. NW. Several neighbors could only get in or out on foot.

Cindy Sills had a broken window but says she was lucky there was no major damage to her home from fallen trees.

“If they’d all hit the house, then it would have probably destroyed it,” Sills says.

Carrie DeLeary showed us the damage behind her home.

“Our entire back deck is pretty much destroyed. All the gazebo area, all the trees in the back are pretty much gone by the creek. And trees that are uprooted are probably 10-feet wide,” she explains.
DeLeary and her neighbors are just glad no one was hurt.
“As long as people are OK, the rest will be OK,” she says.