Wedding & Event Venue Near Allendale, SC.

Heavy damage has been reported in the area after a large tornado came through the rural area in South Carolina.

ALLENDALE COUNTY, S.C. — A large, dangerous tornado is confirmed to have touched down in Allendale County, South Carolina, but the full scope of the damage it caused is still being evaulated.

The twister was seen on radar around 4 p.m. Eastern Tuesday, and quickly, there was high concern. Forecaster could see a strong area of rotation with the system, and the debris that the storm was creating could be seen on Doppler radar.

RELATED: Tornado warnings expire in the Midlands after large outbreak of severe weather in South Carolina

That prompted the National Weather Service to issue this rare statement, a tornado emergency: "A Tornado Emergency is in affect for Allendale, SC and headed toward Sycamore, SC. THIS IS A LIFE THREATENING SITUATION!!"

Videos quickly surfaced on social media showing the large twister on the ground. At present, it's not known exactly how large or how fast the wind speeds were. That evaluation will come later by National Weather Service officials.

RELATED: Here's the latest updates on tornadoes, storm damage in the Midlands

The South Carolina Emergency Management Division said they have one confirmed injury but that one is non life-threatening. An earlier report of a storm-related death appears to have been inaccurate, according to the agency.

Images of downed trees and power lines and other damage showed some of destruction. Emergency teams from both the county and state officials were sent to assess the situation.

Edisto Electric Cooperative, which serves that area, confirmed the winds had damaged parts of our distribution system in that area, including at least three substations. Customers were urged to call 1-800-433-3292 to report outages.

The Allendale County School District confirmed there will be no class on Wednesday due to the damage.

A rapidly moving cluster of thunderstorms was responsible for the severe weather outbreak. In anticipation of severe weather, the Storm Prediction Center has placed the southern Midlands in an enhanced risk of severe weather, and that turned out to be the area that saw the worst of the storms.

Historically, South Carolina's greatest risk for tornadoes is the month of April.

ALLENDALE, S.C. (WIS) – On Wednesday families in Allendale County were picking up the pieces after a tornado ripped through the area on Tuesday, leaving significant damage.

According to the South Carolina Emergency Division, three non-life-threatening injuries have been reported.

The American Red Cross of South Carolina is currently assisting 15 families after the tornado impacted their homes.

Representative Justin Bamberg has asked that Governor Henry McMaster declare a state of emergency in Allendale and Bamberg counties.

Officials say four homes were destroyed, five homes had major damage and six homes had minor damage. More damage assessments will be done Wednesday.

Eletha Kearse, who lives in Ulmer, suffered damage to her trailer, and is praising God because she said it could have been much worse.

As a tornado ripped through the county, Kearse was watching coverage on TV until it came to her doorstep.

“I’m letting everybody else know what the storm was doing, and not knowing not that the storm was headed our way,” she said. “Next thing you know lights went off, next thing you know I heard a sound over my trailer. And I said ‘Lord, it done hit.’ And all I could do was just pray and cry and just ask the Lord just to cover us.”

Half of her awning got blown to the other side of the home.

The window of Kearse’s car got smashed by a refrigerator that was outside. She credits her carport for stopping the fridge from being picked up and thrown on top her home.

There’s also a leak on inside, and she didn’t have power until 7am this morning.

“We could’ve been gone yesterday but God spared our life because as you know, a trailer don’t stand a chance on a tornado, that’s just like a piece of paper,” she said. “So like I said, I am truly blessed. My daughter and my niece are truly blessed today because we’re alive and this is my testimony that I can tell people, do not take a tornado for a joke because it is real.”

Surveying storm damage across the county on Wednesday, WIS found trees ripped up and downed power lines on multiple roads.

WIS also found metal tanks rolled across fields on Railroad Ave. in Allendale, and cars smothered by fallen trees.

There were also collapsed silos on farms, and all sheet metal crumpled like aluminum foil.

Amid the wreckage, Kearse found perspective.

“Like I tell people, my trailer and my car are material things, but God spared our life yesterday and that’s a blessing,” she said.

Allendale County Schools were closed on Wednesday, and will be closed again on Thursday.

Allendale-Fairfax Elementary School was used as a shelter on Tuesday night following the storm.

The Red Cross tells WIS that it’s unclear at this point if the school will be reopened as a shelter on Wednesday night.

Per SCEMD, those wanting to help Allendale County residents affected by the recent storm in Allendale County can make donations of non-perishable food and cleaning supplies. You can do that by calling 803-584-4556 or 706-360-0443.

#Allendale residents who are safe in their houses need to stay home & off the roads.Emergency responders are answering calls rights now.They need the roads cleared of other drivers as they work around debris and help those in need of help.If you have an emergency, call 911. pic.twitter.com/nxk2kVr0Nt

— SCEMD (@SCEMD) April 5, 2022

SCEMD tweeted these photos after the storm Tuesday.

Copyright 2022 WIS. All rights reserved.

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COLUMBIA, S.C. – Queen Wood Products, a subsidiary of Queen Horse Bedding, today announced plans to expand operations in Allendale County. The more than $6 million investment will create 19 new jobs.

Founded in 1998, Queen Wood Products is a family-owned and -operated business that specializes in providing wood shavings for barn stalls.

Expanding to 538 Multitex Street in Ulmer, Queen Wood Products’ new location will increase the company’s capacity to meet growing demand.

The expansion is expected to be completed by the end of 2021. Individuals interested in joining the Queen Wood Products team should call (803) 584-4777.

The Coordinating Council for Economic Development has approved a $250,000 Rural Infrastructure Fund grant to Allendale County to assist with costs related to the project.

QUOTES

“Queen Wood Products is excited to announce its expansion to the old Mohawk Carpet facility in Ulmer, S.C. The move to Ulmer is just minutes down the road from our original location in Allendale, where we have enjoyed doing business since 1998. We will be spending over $6 million and the expansion will allow for 19 additional jobs. We are hoping to be up and running in Ulmer with the first phase in September and should have the next phase in operation by the end of 2021.” -Queen Wood Products Owner Skip Queen

“Queen Wood Products’ decision to expand in Allendale County is a testament to our state’s world-class workforce and strong business environment. We congratulate them on this $6 million investment and the addition of 19 new jobs and look forward to seeing them continue to succeed in our state for years to come.” -Gov. Henry McMaster

“I am proud that Queen Wood Products has decided to expand their Allendale County operations and create 19 new jobs in one of our state’s rural communities. This expansion is great news for Allendale County and the entire state of South Carolina.” -Secretary of Commerce Bobby Hitt

“Allendale County congratulates Skip Queen on this achievement of expanding his company’s footprint. We appreciate the impact Queen Wood Products has in our county, providing direct and indirect jobs to many families in the region. We look forward to working with his team to make sure we provide the best business environment for his continued success.” -Allendale County Council Chairman Rick Gooding

“SouthernCarolina Alliance (SCA) salutes Queen Wood Products, a great renewable resource industry that has flourished in Allendale County. We are proud of Queen Wood Products’ success, which is a great American success story built on ingenuity and determination combined with the hard work of local employees and resources. SCA congratulates Skip Queen and will continue to assist him in growing his operations in our region.” -SouthernCarolina Alliance Chairman Marty Sauls

“We welcome Skip Queen and Queen Wood Products to Ulmer. Their investment and job creation will boost our local economy, and we are happy to have this longtime Allendale County business expanding in Ulmer.” -Mayor of Ulmer Ervin Mathias

The decision by a Columbia school district to fight the state’s efforts to get the district’s fiscal house in order is a painful reminder that all too often, troubled school districts don’t welcome anyone trying to set them on the right course. It’s also a reminder of how crucial it is for the S.C. Education Department to continue its often-thankless work in this area.

The idea that it’s the Legislature’s job to provide a decent education to all kids — and therefore it’s the state’s job to ensure that the legislatively created districts are doing that — has been slow in taking.

After the pushback that then-S.C. Education Superintendent Inez Tenenbaum got from her efforts early in this century to improve Allendale County schools, the state backed off for years, experimenting with an all-carrot approach that didn’t provide a whole lot of carrots. And it didn’t get the job done.

It was only after Superintendent Molly Spearman took office in 2016 that the Education Department and the Legislature worked together to create a clearly defined system for providing troubled districts with assistance, whether they wanted it or not. The result was a series of district takeovers — some welcomed and some not — that has produced modest improvements.

State law now spells out a series of interventions the department is to take to help districts correct both fiscal and academic problems. The new law recognizes that problems in either area can result in children being cheated out of a decent education.

Currently, the agency is running the school districts in Allendale and Williamsburg counties. It had hoped to return control to the Allendale district this year, but that effort was delayed after voters elected a felon who is barred from holding office; that mess, along with another board member’s election to the county council, temporarily left an incomplete school board that Ms. Spearman didn’t feel comfortable putting back in charge.

An additional 300 schools are receiving special attention from the state agency to improve the education they deliver to the students. If things go well, the state will step away; if not, the state could intensify its oversight.

On the financial side, one district is under what’s called fiscal caution, the lowest level of supervision, while four are on fiscal watch, the middle level of oversight and the one that Ms. Spearman imposed on Richland School District One after an audit of its spending practices.

That audit followed reporting by The Post and Courier’s Avery Wilks that found misspending by district employees, including a former purchasing official who has since been indicted on embezzlement and corruption charges and whom the district did not fire but instead allowed to resign. The state audit confirmed that the district’s lax oversight allowed employees to spend taxpayer dollars on personal items, swipe their district procurement cards with vendors that were supposed to be banned and regularly fail to document their spending with receipts.

Fiscal watch, as Mr. Wilks reports, is simply “an unbecoming designation that requires school districts to work with the Education Department to improve their financial practices” — something that shouldn’t be a problem for a district that’s done nothing wrong, as Richland One insists is the case.

Unfortunately, Richland One’s leaders, like the leaders in so many districts that are clearly failing to deliver the education their students need and deserve, have no interest in being told they need to do better. So on Tuesday, they voted to appeal the designation.

That likely will keep the situation in limbo until after Ms. Spearman leaves office next month.

Her successor, Ellen Weaver, has a lot of work to do to gain the level of trust that Ms. Spearman has won throughout most of the state’s education community. While Ms. Weaver works to gain that trust, it’s essential that she also keep the pressure on districts that aren’t delivering. It’s a difficult balancing act, but one she must achieve.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD)- A growing number of women in South Carolina are living without access to maternity care, according to a new map.

The map, released by the University of South Carolina (USC), shows the number of clinics, hospitals, licensed midwives, and other women’s health providers available in the state.

Thousands of women in the state are living in a maternity care desert—an area without a hospital or birth center offering obstetric care and without any obstetric providers.

The map also highlights the inadequacy of maternity care in rural parts of the state. Five counties in South Carolina currently have limited or no pregnancy and childbirth-related health services, including Allendale, Barnwell, Greenwood, Saluda, and Williamsburg counties.

“You’ve got several counties where someone would have to travel more than 30 minutes to an hour to get to a prenatal care provider,” Kathryn Luchok, a senior instructor of women’s and gender studies at USC said.” “It essentially affects all of the rural residents of South Carolina.”

And, the problem of rural healthcare disparities is worsening across the state, according to advocates.

“Our numbers for care deserts is up,” March of Dimes’ Director of Maternal Infant Health for South Carolina Tameca Wilson said. “During the period of COVID, we’ve lost some providers and some practices may have closed in our rural areas.”

Maternity care deserts can contribute to a lack of prenatal care during pregnancy or treatment for pregnancy complications.

A 2022 March of Dimes report found that 18 percent of South Carolina mothers received inadequate prenatal care compared to 14.5 percent nationally.

“Some kinds of problems that might develop during pregnancy can be targeted and addressed during that time,” she said. “So, if you have someone who has missed a lot of those visits, you might miss a problem that’s going to come up in delivery that you weren’t expecting.”

Those regions with fewer services also tend to have lower quality birth outcomes, Luchok said, which includes higher infant and maternal mortality rates.

“A lot of people go in and out of care and they don’t have those [preexisting conditions] well addressed, so they come into pregnancy already at a deficit that makes them more high risk,” “So they’re going to come into delivery perhaps with something major unaddressed that’s going to cause a problem during delivery.”

A DHEC study found that roughly 62% of maternal deaths between 2016 and 2020 in South Carolina were pregnancy-related and that more than two-thirds of those deaths were preventable.

But those results are even starker for women of color who have a maternal mortality rate 2.4 times higher than White women, according to the same study.

“That’s been like a 200-year disparity that has not gotten much better,” Luchok said.

Overall, March of Dimes gave the state an “F” grade for preterm births—a contributing factor to infant mortality. The 2022 infant mortality rate in South Carolina was 6.5 compared to 5.4 nationally.

“If we could make prenatal care very accessible to the maximum number of people in the state, we would probably see better birth outcomes,” Luchok said.

That sentiment is shared by Wilson who said, “Unfortunately, your zip code impacts the health of your baby.”

The disparity can be explained, in part, by the disproportionate access to healthcare and some expectant mothers needing to travel long distances to receive services.

For example, there are no obstetric service providers in Allendale, S.C., meaning a pregnant woman would have to travel at least 15 miles to reach the nearest clinic in Hampton, S.C. Depending on the circumstances, traveling may not be a feasible option for some women.

“If you are in a rural area without care, what else is missing in that area?” Wilson asked. “Is there limited access to food and grocery stores, is transportation a problem, are you an hourly employee which can also make a difference.”

Wilson added that the obstacles force some women to forgo prenatal care and education that would be beneficial for themselves, the baby, and their families.

Lawmakers and advocates pushing for policy changes

The March of Dimes highlights several policy changes which would improve the issue of maternity care deserts across South Carolina, many of which are echoed by Luchok.

One of those solutions would be to expand Medicaid coverage in the state to individuals who fall at or below 138% of the federal poverty level. Nonprofit organization KFF estimates that more than 105,000 uninsured adults in the coverage gap would become eligible if Medicaid was expanded statewide.

“The state has a huge number of births that are covered by Medicaid,” Luchok said. “There’s an extension of the women on income that expands when someone is pregnant, so once someone becomes pregnant, they can get Medicaid even if they weren’t eligible for it prior to their pregnancy.”

The organization also advocates for using alternative birthing services, such as midwives and doulas–who are licensed in South Carolina to carry equipment and medications and are required to have years of training and apprenticeships. The problem, however, is that most are clustered in urban areas and often not covered by insurance.

“A doula can be a person who can help in that education component and that care component just to bridge the gap—not replacing an obstetrics visit but just filling the gap,” Wilson explained. “Nationwide, we’re working on legislation to help make doula care something that is reimbursable so patients can use insurance to pay for this extended care.”

The rural healthcare disparity has also grabbed attention at the Statehouse where lawmakers have touted it as a top priority heading into the 2023 legislative session.

One step to improving healthcare in rural areas, according to S.C. Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey (R-Edgefield), would be to repeal the Certificate of Need requirement for new and expanding facilities across the state.

The Certificate of Need is approved by DHEC and can be challenged by competing for health systems, a process that can take years.

Supporters of the repeal like Sen. Massey believe that process is outdated, but opponents like the South Carolina Hospital Association say it protects rural hospitals and can prevent hospitals from overspending because of competition.

Legislation to repeal the requirement passed the Senate last year but stalled in the House. Sen. Massey said he expects the issue to be taken up again in the Senate again early in the session.

South Carolinians living in maternity care deserts can use the USC map to find services and providers closest to them.