RIEGELWOOD - RIEGELWOOD — An early-morning tornado ripped through a mobile home park in rural Columbus County, killing at least seven as it tore houses from foundations and sent people and cars flying into the woods.

The twister damaged 30 homes near the tiny town of Riegelwood, about 20 miles northwest of Wilmington, and crushed two brick homes. Trees and debris blocked N.C. 87, while crews searched for four still missing from the wreckage.

Several children were among the dead, and rural residents covered bodies with blankets before emergency crews could arrive.

“There’s no time for a warning in a tornado,” Columbus County Sheriff Chris Batten said. “It is a major catastrophe. It really tears at your heart.”

The number of dead and missing fluctuated all morning as bodies were recovered and injured victims died.

“There was a trailer park that was completely flattened," said Linda Simmons, a volunteer with Columbus County Emergency Management. "There was a two-story brick home that was totally destroyed. There was another mobile home that was picked up and set down in another area."

Gov. Mike Easley said 30 to 40 mobile homes were hit. About 20 people were transported to area hospitals for injuries, Easley said. He said he knew of seven deaths and four missing people in Columbus County. Those unaccounted for came from the mobile park.

The tornado was the worst to hit the state since a twister touched down in nearby Pender County in 2004, killing three people. In 1984, a major tornado hit Red Springs in Robeson County and spun through eight others, killing 42 and injuring 623.

“We’re not through this one yet,” Easley said. “We’ve not been fortunate, but it’s certainly not as bad as it was in ‘84.” The twister struck at 6:45 a.m., only minutes after the sheriff’s office received the warning.

Melvin Brown, 53, who lives nearby, huddled his children and grandchildren in the middle of their mobile home as the tornado passed. Brown got a telephone call from the stricken area, where his wife has family, and quickly drove to the site.

“I seen where my cousin’s trailer used to be,” he said.

He and a companion spotted a man laying dead under a blanket, his sock jutting from underneath. Brown recognized his sister’s cousin from the sock, and pulled up the blanket to confirm he had died. “I never seen nothing like that in my life,” he said.

Nector Diaz, 23, who lives in nearby Delco, said he met a friend who lost both his wife and daughter to the storm. The wife, Diaz said, had just walked out the door on the way to the babysitter when the storm lifted them from the ground.

“She flew,” Diaz said. “The thing picked her up and took her all the way to the pond.”

About 30 families had moved into a shelter at Acme Delco Elementary School in Riegelwood. Emergency medical services crews are checking homes to make sure no one is trapped, said Patty McQuillan of the state Highway Patrol. The Riegelwood Baptist Church was taking donated clothes.

“There are volunteers showing up who are actually getting in the way,” McQuillan said. “Columbus County has asked volunteers not to show up unless they are asked.”

One or more of the fast-moving tornadoes developed quickly, giving people in their paths little to time to get out of the way — even if they knew trouble was afoot. The National Weather Service in Wilmington issued a tornado warning for Columbus County at 6:29 pm. The weather service thinks the largest of the tornadoes touched down eight minutes later, said meteorologist Ron Steve.

Easley activated the State Emergency Response Team and sent emergency crews to help affected counties. He urged citizens to mind weather reports and said damage assessment would begin Friday. He will make a decision about declaring a disaster area based on those findings.

The tornado watches have been lifted for all but extreme northeastern North Carolina, as the storm pushes north up the coast. Some minor flooding is expected along the Neuse River in Smithfield and the Tar River in Greenville, but the rain has ended along Interstate 95 and points west.