4, SC–16

lornajarrettblanchard April 16, 1944

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 4-7-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

South Carolina (16)

–16 Abbeville and Newberry counties. Grazulis. Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991. 1993, p.912.

–16 Abbeville, Newberry Counties, SC (Grazulis 1993, p.902)

–4 Abbeville

–7 Greenwood southside

–1 Ninety-Six

–4 between Chappells and Prosperity

Grazulis:

“SC Apr 16, 1944 0100 16k 200ing 400y 50m F4. Abbeville/Newberry – Moved E from the south side of Abbeville to Greenwood. Four people died in Abbeville, and seven people died and 100 were injured on the south side of Greenwood. One persons was killed at ‘Ninety-Six,’ and four died between Chappells and Prosperity, in Newberry County. Most of the $400,000 damage was at Greenwood, and at ‘Ninety-Six,’ 8m E of Greenwood. In Greenwood, nine homes on one block were destroyed. Most of the dead were children. $400,000.” (1993, p. 912.)

Newspaper

April 17: “Roaring Twister Hit South Carolina And Georgia Yesterday. Twenty-One Deaths Tabulated in Royston, Ga. – 100-Mile Path of Destruction.

“Atlanta, April 16. – At least forty persons were killed and more than 500 others were injured by a night tornado that cut a 100-mile path of destruction across northeast Georgia and Western South Carolina today. Property damage, unestimated, was considered high. Georgia was hit hardest. Ahe Associated Press and Red Cross tabulated 21 deaths in Georgia – 12 in the Royston area and nine in Hart county, where eight of them died in the Nuburg community.

“Nineteen persons were reported killed in South Carolina.

“The twister, moving erratically in advance of severe rain squalls and electrical disturbances, apparently struck first near Gainesville, Ga. That is the scene of another spring tornado in 1936 that killed 185 persons. Two homes were demolished near Gainesville, but only four persons were hurt.

“About 100 injuries were reported in the vicinity of Royston. More than a score of houses were destroyed, one killing a family of five.

“Eight died and 150 others were injured at Greenwood, S.C., and its vicinity. Greenwood’s two-story city hospital was virtually demolished but no patients were hurt. Four were killed and a score more injured at Abbeville, S.C. Two died at Iva, S.XC. The Red Cross reported four deaths and 12 others injured at Prosperity, S.C., and Sligh’s in Newberry county, S.C. About 12 homes and buildings were leveled there, One was killed at Little Mountain, S.C. ….” (Lincoln Times, NC. “40 Killed: 500 Injured In Tornado.” 4-17-1944, p. 1.)

Sources

Grazulis, Thomas P. Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events. St. Johnsbury, VE: Environmental Films, 1993, 1,326 pages.

Lincoln Times, NC. “40 Killed: 500 Injured In Tornado.” 4-17-1944, p. 1. Accessed 4-7-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/lincoln-times-apr-17-1944-p-1/