Tornado touches down in Myrtle Beach, sends beach chairs flying

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) – A tornado touched down in Myrtle Beach Friday afternoon.

According to information from the Myrtle Beach Fire Department, the tornado touched down around 74th Avenue North. Photos taken by fire crews show beach chairs and umbrellas strewn about on the shore.

Damage appears to be minimal at this time.

While some people who live along the beach didn’t see the tornado, some say they did.

Our news team received a picture of the tornado from 16-year-old Andrew Elswick, who caught many of the moments on camera.

Elswick lives a mile from where the tornado was spotted, and said he was standing on this beach access walkway off 64th Avenue North just moments before the tornado landed.

Elswick saw what appeared to be the rotation of the tornado, and took a picture from a safe distance.

“It’s really really awesome to be able to come out here and see one, especially right by my house,” Elswick said. “Just to see one for myself.”

WMBF News also spoke with two surfers who also say they witnessed the tornado while preparing to hit the waves.

“It touched down and then it came back up shortly," said Dominic Colacicco. "It didn’t really touch again. It’s amazing, you don’t get to see stuff like that every day.”

“I was really worried the tornado was going to come towards us on the beach but luckily it stayed offshore the whole time,” said Dylan Donahue.

Eric Hannan was enjoying a quiet night with his kids when he saw a video that his neighbor filmed and put on Facebook. To his surprise, the video showed a tornado near his home.

“That was my house, with the tornado [beside it]," Hannan said. "I was just washing my garbage can, I had no clue.”

Tabatha Kingsley moved from Las Vegas and has been living in Myrtle Beach for a year. She said she didn’t see the tornado, but wanted to check out the area where the tornado had landed, only a few miles from her home.

“I got in the car after I watched the videos and pictures,” said Kingsley. “I thought I’d check it out. It’s a very different change [with tornado concerns]. It’s a lot to get used to and it’s a little frightening but so far so good.”

Viewer-submitted videos can be seen below. WARNING: Some of the videos contain graphic language.

If you have photos or videos of the tornado, upload them here.

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