A 10-foot wave from TS Elsa cracks pilings, adds to Port Royal’s $1M tornado damage
Port Royal bore the brunt of the area’s damage from Tropical Storm Elsa earlier this month when a tornado hit downtown. But the storm also spawned a large wave that crashed into an isolated area of the town’s waterfront, cracking more than 30 wooden pilings at the former state-owned terminal building.
As investigators assess damage, residents are rallying around the Port Royal Veterinary Hospital, which the twister hit hard.
More than two weeks after the July 7 twister, the tally is still incomplete. Trees crashed into at least 44 buildings, with the damage estimated to be $1 million.
But that figure could rise depending on the final damage assessment at the vet hospital, which sustained heavy damage, and the Port of Port Royal area, Town Manager Van Willis said.
Whit Suber of Grey Ghost Properties, which owns the port of Port Royal property, said the wave, estimated to be 8 to 10 feet high, hit land in front of the former S.C. Ports Authority concrete building, where two cruise ships are tied up, and the staging docks at Butler Marine next door.
“It was isolated just directly where the twister was,” Suber said. “And where it hit was where the cruise ships are and the staging docks.”
High winds from a tornado caused the wave whose impact was isolated to a few hundred yards of waterfront, said Suber, who saw the wave on security camera footage.
“The whole affair took maybe 15 seconds,” he said. “A huge wave came and went swiping over the staging docks.”
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Two cruise ships are tied up at the terminal.
“It really caused a big jolt and the ships hit into these wooden pilings,” Suber said.
The wave pushed the ships into the wooden pilings, cracking 35 that need to be replaced, at $2,000 to $2,500 apiece, for a total that could reach $87,500.
The ships were not damaged, Willis said.
The pilings, which are about a foot in diameter, act like a car bumper, preventing damage to ships and buildings. In this instance, they worked as they should, preventing damage to the terminal building and cruise ships, but they need to be replaced.
A sailboat also was tipped over by the wave, Suber said.
The main finger of the staging dock at a nearby drystack boat business also was significantly damaged but did not cause a disruption in operations.
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“We’re still plugging away,” Willis said Thursday of the cleanup in town, which includes cutting up downed trees and picking up yard debris. “We’ve still got mountains of yard debris we’re working through.”
The city of Beaufort is assisting the town by contributing equipment and personnel, Willis said.
The veterinary hospital remains closed. When it will reopen remains unclear.
“We are keeping our fingers crossed in hopes we will be able to at least partially open while they are doing some of the repairs, but we still don’t know,” said Dr. Marikay Campbell, one of the owners of the Port Royal Veterinary Hospital.
Community members are helping the hospital owners meet its $100,000 insurance deductible.
One gofundme effort to raise $100,000 had raised $14,261 as of Thursday.
A tornado relief event to assist the hospital is planned from 5:30-9 p.m. July 28 at the Community Beer Garden, and Blackstone’s Cafe in Beaufort is donating 10 percent of its profits July 26-Aug. 1 to the hospital
“The community has been amazing,” Campbell said.
Workers are pulling up the damaged floors and ceilings. The damaged roof has been reinforced. The hospital, she said, will reopen “as soon as we possibly can,” Campbell said.
The National Weather Service confirmed a short tornado path on the southern end of Parris Island. It was spawned by Tropical Storm Elsa. A ground survey could not confirm a continuous path from Parris Island to Port Royal. However, it was likely the same tornado that moved into Port Royal several minutes later, the Weather Service said.
The tornado produced winds of 97 mph at 11:50 p.m. “near 11th street, between Paris and London Avenues,” which knocked down numerous trees that fell on houses and buildings.
This story was originally published July 23, 2021 at 4:40 AM.
