‘A lot of work ahead of us’
In Annapolis and Edgewater, cleanup begins in wake of Wednesday tornado
Utility workers and public works employees in Annapolis and Anne Arundel County continued cleanup efforts Thursday in the city and Edgewater to repair power outages and pick up the wreckage from buildings after a tornado tore through the area Wednesday afternoon.
Annapolis and Anne Mayor Arundel Gavin County Buckley Executive Steuart Pittman declared states of emergency Thursday as residents and business owners started to assess the extent of their property damage. Pittman said the declaration was the first step toward applying for state aid. The storm would have to reach a threshold of $9 million in damages to be eligible for federal relief from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“Our partners at the county and the state will be crucial to assist residents in the cleanup,” Buckley said. “We are thankful that there were no fatalities and no reported injuries. The fact remains we have a lot of work ahead of us.” Meteorologists from the National Weather Service were dispatched to Annapolis Thursday to investigate the storm’s path from Edgewater across the
South River into the Child’s Point area before crossing Aris T. Allen Boulevard to the Parole area, which was the hardest hit. The tornado damaged multiple businesses on West Street, took down power lines, tore off roofs and tossed trees into homes on its way north.
The tornado reached winds of up to 125 mph and traveled more than 11 miles, according to the National Weather Service. The weather service said the tornado was rated as Category EF-2 on the Enhanced Fujita scale, which ranges from 0 to 5. The agency said the tornado had a maximum width of 200 yards and lasted from 2 p.m. to 2:23 p.m.
Thousands of county residents were without power and many in the Parole area were without gas Wednesday night into Thursday morning. That number slowly dwindled as Baltimore Gas & Electric crews worked through the night fixing outages and locating gas leaks caused by the tornado. BGE reported 1,287 Anne Arundel County customers remained without power Thursday evening.
Gov. Larry Hogan, who saw Wednesday’s ominous storm roll in from a State House window, toured the impacted areas at South River High School in Edgewater and West Street in Annapolis Thursday. The state would provide assistance to local government’s recovery efforts, he said.
Hogan, Pittman and school officials walked along South River’s running track where the tornado ripped off a piece of the stadium concession stand’s roof. It dropped the rafter atop trees on its path to West Street. Fall’s first football game was supposed to be played at the high school Friday but has been relocated to Severna Park.
Anne Arundel officials said they estimate at least 100 homes in Edgewater suffered severe damage.
Building inspectors from Annapolis’ Department of Planning and Zoning determined there are 38 people displaced in the city with three buildings destroyed, 24 buildings condemned, 26 structures with major damage, and 49 buildings with minor damage as of Thursday afternoon. The numbers are expected to rise as inspectors continue their work.
A stretch of West Street from Chinquapin Round Road past Gibraltar Avenue remained closed Thursday and is not expected to reopen until Friday at least. In the immediate aftermath of the tornado, utility poles and McDonald’s golden arches blocked the street and glass from blown-out storefront windows littered parking lots.
Walter Vasquez stood in ankle-high water collected inside his freshly painted West Street store Thursday afternoon. Vasquez is the owner of the new and popular Annapolis International Market that had part of its roof torn off by the tornado. Vasquez watched from his car across the street as the tornado spun into his store and tossed his commercial sign onto the road in seconds. His employees were screaming when he returned to the store to pick them up, he said.
While surveying the street’s heaviest damage, Hogan stepped inside Vasquez’ flooded market. Vasquez said he put most of his savings into the store and a food truck stationed behind it.
He remains optimistic that he and his seven employees will be able to rebuild the 8-monthold market quickly.
“As soon as they say it’s safe again, we got to start back to work. I have a commitment to my employees. They were selling stuff, now they’ll start building stuff,” Vasquez said.
“It’s going to be the best store in this area, eventually.”
Ward 3 City Council candidate Keanuú Smith-Brown delivered more than 150 hot meals in the Annapolis Gardens community to residents who lost power and were placed in hotels for the night. Smith-Brown invited Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot to tour the damage and speak to affected residents.
Franchot said he would offer tax relief to West Street business owners whose properties sustained damage.
Tornado’s possible path
City workers and volunteers quickly organized a resource center at a nearby church, Mount Olive Community Life Center, to assist residents affected by the storm as a “one-stopshop” they can visit with questions about insurance and other concerns. The center is open from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday.
Dre Kyler said he was driving in his work truck on West Street when the tornado struck Wednesday. He watched as a McDonald’s sign was flung aside by a gust of wind, then the sign for the Sun & Earth natural food store.
He said he threw his truck into reverse and pulled into the Annapolis Gardens townhome complex on Bowman Court where his mother and uncle live.
“It was a living hell,” Kyler said. “It just started blowing everywhere. Trash cans started flying, trees started banging everywhere. You could hear everything.”
Thursday morning, much of the complex was still without power, and parts had been roped off with caution tape. As workers repaired torn siding and gaping holes in roofs around the complex, and swept up leaves and branches, Kyler was surveying the damage to his uncle’s Oldsmobile. Many of its windows had been shattered in the storm, including the back windshield.
Doretha Scott, 68, was raking leaves and branches into a garbage bag Thursday afternoon outside her home along Forest Drive, as the damage to her property was starting to sink in.
Bricks from her chimney were torn off, and dropped onto the hood of one of the family’s cars, sending a spiderweb of cracks through the front windshield.
A historic car that Scott’s son was working on was badly dented too. Chunks of siding were pulled from the front of her house, and a downed tree caved in her screened-in porch.
Scott said she never saw the tornado, but she heard it. The incredible rumble was enough to send her and her family for the basement. Her neighbor’s entire roof was lifted from its home.
“I was just shocked to the point that I was numb,” she said. “It was done. There was nothing you could do.”
She’s made a few calls about covering the damage, but said she’s waiting for some of the dust to settle.
“Once it sunk in what had happened, this morning we’re just taking it slow,” she said. “Just giving it a little bit of time.”