Yes, it was a tornado that wreaked havoc in downtown Branchville on Saturday evening.

The National Weather Service has determined that a twister with a force of  EF-3 (Enhanced Fujita scale) struck the southern Orangeburg County town, John Smith, Orangeburg County director of emergency services, said Sunday afternoon.

It was part of a wide swath of storms that left wreckage across parts of South Carolina and Georgia.

Within Orangeburg County, Branchville was the hardest-hit area, Smith said in an interview at his mobile incident command center, which was parked near the remnants of The Churn, a short-order restaurant, and an outdoor car wash nearby.

They were among 20 businesses along a two-block stretch of Freedom Road that were damaged. Seven of the businesses, and the Town Hall, may have been damaged too much to repair, Smith said.

Two homes were destroyed, and about two dozen more residences were damaged, as the storm angled through the town and touched down here and there.

Despite the widespread property damage, officials marveled that only one injury was reported and it was not life-threatening. It oculd not be determined whether that was due to the weather service issuing a tornado warning well in advance of the twister's touchdown in town.

Freedom Road -- which carries both U.S. 21 and U.S. 78 for a couple of blocks -- was reopened to traffic Sunday morning.

The traffic was bumper-to-bumper Sunday afternoon, with some leaning out of the windows with cameras, recording the debris.

Pedestrians were asked not to walk downtown, as several buildings were believed to be unstable and unsafe to be near.

Water and wastewater operations resumed Sunday morning. As of Sunday evening, electricity was back on in many areas, but not in the downtown business district or in the corridor along U.S. 78 east of town.

Smith said people who are still without power Monday afternoon need to contact their electricity supplier.

Smith reiterated his warning to avoid downed power lines, even if they were "dead" after the storm, because they might become "hot" as power is restored to various areas.

Smith urged people using emergency generators not to connect them to the electric power grid, as it could cause injuries to linemen as they work to restore power.

Look for more coverage of the storm later on TheTandD.com and in Monday's edition of The Times and Democrat.

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