(Manning) Jan. 14, 2006 - Residents and weather experts were surveying damage Saturday morning after severe weather passed through South Carolina Friday night.

Eleven people were treated for injuries after a tornado hit west of Manning in a mobile home park off Highway 261 Friday night.

Of the 11 treated at Clarendon Memorial, seven have been released in stable condition. Hospital supervisor Beverly Trotter says four of the patients were transferred to Palmetto Health Richland, where they are still considered in fair, but guarded condition.

Trotter says injuries ranged from stitching up minor cuts to people requiring surgery.

According to Eddie LeSaine, his mother Isabelle LeSaine was missing for a while after Friday's storms, but he tells News 10 his mother has been located. Apparently, she was out of town at the time in Olanta visiting friends. 

National Weather Service meteorologist Leonard Vaughan says that reports indicate a tornado touched down about 9:40 pm night in Clarendon County.

Mildred Lemon lives in that community and says that in her 73 years, she's never seen a storm this bad. She says people with their homes still standing are simply lucky.

Mildred was home alone at the time of the twister, but it didn't take long for her daughter to come to her aid.

"I left from the hair dresser and drove 85 miles an hour ... when I [got] back everything [was] gone. I said oh my God," says Barbara Lemon, Mildred's daughter.

While the Lemon's house is still standing, others around them weren't so lucky. According to witnesses, the tornado destroyed nine homes and damaged at least 18 more.

Despite the destruction, Emergency Management official Anthony Mack has faith.

"Immediately after, it's quite devastating. But, individuals are resilient and they pick up the pieces and put their lives back together," says Mack.

The National Weather Service confirmed four separate tornados across South Carolina Friday night. Aside from the one that did so much damage, there was an additional twister that tore along Winter's Hill Road in Clarendon County. That storm damaged five homes. Two more moved across Orangeburg and Bamberg counties.

But that wasn't all the severe weather Friday. At 5:04pm, a waterspout was reported over the northeastern part of Lake Murray moving northeast at 50mph. Doppler radar indicated that the storm had weakened shortly afterwards.

High winds in Newberry County may also be to blame for an accident Friday night involving a Highway Patrolman. The officer was driving on Highway 395 just before 9:00 Friday night when a pine tree fell across the road.

The tree hit his car, crushing the top and setting it on fire. The trooper was taken to Palmetto Richland and is expected to be OK.

The system was associated with a cold front that moved quickly across the state. The National Weather Service says it brought intense heavy rain and tornado warnings for several counties. Most of the state was under a tornado watch at some point Friday.

Residents without a place to go are getting help from the American Red Cross, after volunteers started helping the victims Friday night just after the tornados hit.

They opened a service center for those needing food, shelter and clothing.

The Red Cross is asking for donations to help the folks in Clarendon County recover.

You can send a check to:

American Red Cross
P.O Box 91
Columbia, S.C., 29201

Or you can call 1-800-Help-Now.

Or you can make a contribution on-line

Updated 8:27pm by Graeme Moore with AP