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Severe Storms Kill 2 In Md., Down Trees & Power Lines

WOODLAWN, Md. (WJZ)-- The storms were destructive and deadly, killing two people in Maryland.

A 71-year-old woman died after a tree fell on her home in Montgomery County. In southern Anne Arundel County, a man died when a tree crashed onto the car he was driving.

Now, we are getting a clear picture of the extensive damage this storm left behind. Wicked winds brought down trees onto homes and cars, and downed power lines across the region.

Monique Griego has the latest on the widespread power outages.

Most people around Baltimore City and County are dealing with downed trees, many of which took out power lines. The storm knocked out power to nearly a million people that led the governor to declare a state of emergency.

A massive cleanup is underway in Baltimore County after heavy wind and rain pounded neighborhoods across the region.

"A lot of winds, a lot of trees falling. As you can see, very scary," Karen Wesley, a homeowner, said.

In Woodlawn, hurricane-like winds took out power lines and trees that in turn crushed houses and cars.

"The crash was just like a boom. Just like something fell out of the sky, really," Renae Mayfield said.

Somewhere underneath a giant tree are the remains of her neighbor's house. Falling limbs nearly split it in two while trapping the owner inside.

Neighbors say the homeowner was running from room to room trying to escape falling debris but ended up suffering head trauma and broken bones.

The house is now condemned. And as if dealing with all this damage wasn't enough, these homeowners are among 500,000 people who lost power.

"We're getting everything from trees down calls to wires down. And wires are sparking," said Rob Gould, a BGE representative.

Because the severity of this storm was unexpected, Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE) says the restoration process is going to be lengthy.

"We're making progress but at the end of the day, there are going to be customers that are without service for several days going into next week," he said.

Gould also advised residents not to touch downed wires.

Gov. Martin O'Malley spoke out about the outages after declaring a state of emergency.

"This is tedious work. It is time consuming work," he said.

Until power is restored, neighbors are focused on cleaning up this mess and finding a cool place to stay.

"They do the best they can do. It's just something nobody can anticipate and you have no control over," Mayfield said.

BGE says they have restored power to 150,000 homes but 368,240 homes are still without power-- 97,508 in Baltimore County, 89,675 in Baltimore City and 44,691 in Prince George's County. However, more people in the Washington D.C. area and the Eastern Shore are still in the dark bringing the total number to over a million homes in the region.

To view current outages, click here.

In addition to the local utility crews, BGE says an additional 650 linemen are coming in from various states to help restore power. If you are a BGE customer, call 877-778-2222 to report an outage.

Water is currently being restored to residents in Northwest Baltimore City and in Northwest Baltimore County. Friday night's storm disrupted the pumping station in Pikesville. It knocked out water to the Park Heights, Randallstown, Owings Mills and Pleasant Hill. People in those areas are being urged to conserve water as service is fully restored to all communities.

Many gas stations across Maryland had also closed as a result of the storm. One gas station in Anne Arundel County had a 20-minute wait for gas with 70 cars in line at one time.

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