Three students were hospitalized after a strong gust of wind ripped away the wall and roof of an elementary school gym.
Surveillance footage from Union Intermediate School’s gym in Sampson County, North Carolina, shows a group of children playing when one of the building’s walls suddenly appears to explode inward.
The red curtains from a stage in the gym billow as wood, bricks, and pieces of the building rush toward the running children. A portion of the roof also blew off.
Three children at the school were hospitalized, though the extent of their injuries has not been released.
A DAY AFTER THE STORMS: Here’s a look at the damage inside Union Intermediate School. The stage inside the gymnasium is destroyed. Architects and engineers are on scene today assessing and clearing debris. #abc11 pic.twitter.com/zf3JCI0ssm
— Akilah Davis (@DavisABC11) January 14, 2020
“The students were doing their gym activities and all of a sudden, it’s just debris starts flowing in and you see the sky,” Sampson County Schools spokeswoman Wendy Cabral told ABC 13.
About two dozen students were in the gym during the sudden squall. Classes were canceled the following day.
“I was praying in the middle of that moment so everybody could be safe,” said Kevin, a fifth grader who said he heard the crashing from another section of the school.
The National Weather Service said the cause of the damage was from what is known as a microburst, “a localized column of sinking air (downdraft) within a thunderstorm” that can cause extensive damage and winds up to 100 mph.
Some images of the microburst that occurred this afternoon in NW Raleigh. #NCwx https://t.co/D4XQV7VyRm
— NWS Raleigh (@NWSRaleigh) July 17, 2019
