April 30, 2002

LA PLATA, Md. -- After being slammed by the strongest tornado ever recorded in Maryland, officials worked today to restore electricity and clear the wreckage of some 200 homes and businesses that were destroyed or severely damaged. Schools remained closed.

The Sunday night storm killed three people in the area and injured nearly 100.

"It is so shocking to go through our town and see it almost leveled," said town manager Doug Miller. "We're just trying now to get the essential services back and start cleaning up."

A preliminary assessment by the National Weather Service rated the twister at F5 on the Fujita scale, the most powerful level.

An F5 twister has wind of 261 mph to 318 mph. Sunday's tornado created a trail of damage 26 miles long and extending from 50 feet to more than 400 feet wide in places.

It was the first F5 in a state that has recorded only two F4s -- including one in 1926 that killed 14 children in La Plata.

A total of six people were killed Sunday as a huge swarm of thunderstorms rumbled across the Tennessee and Ohio valleys and all the way to the East Coast. Thousands lost power.

At least 30 people were injured in Providence and Irvington, Ky., where a 32-year-old man died when he was thrown from his mobile home. Dozens were injured in southern Illinois and a 69-year-old woman was found dead outside her home in Dongola.

Funeral services were scheduled today for Billy Hoover, 12, who was at a birthday sleepover at a friend's home near Marble Hill, Mo. A tornado pulled the child from the home and tossed his body 50 yards.

La Plata was under a 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew for a second consecutive night. Officials said the curfew would continue at least until electricity is restored to the 2,000 customers still without power today in surrounding Charles County.

Much of the area was cordoned off and residents had to have a police escort to get to their property. Public schools remained closed in Charles County.

Charles County officials negotiated with state and federal authorities to find an appropriate landfill site for the tons of debris that will have to be dumped as demolished buildings are cleared away. Residents worked to board up windows and patch roofs on still-standing homes and businesses.

Gov. Parris Glendening declared a state of emergency for Charles, Calvert and Dorchester counties, freeing the National Guard to help. Sens. Paul Sarbanes and Barbara Mikulski toured the devastation Monday and promised to expedite federal help.

The storm killed two people in La Plata and one in Prince Frederick in Calvert County. Ninety-five people were injured, according to the Charles County Sheriff's Office.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/nation/1389718