Tornado Rips Through Homes, Injures 2 Just Across Md. Line In Marydel, Del.
MARYDEL, Del. (WJZ)—Those strong storms that ripped through our area Thursday moved east, producing a powerful tornado that touched down just across the Maryland line into Delaware. It happened near Marydel.
Derek Valcourt has more on that twister and the damage it left behind.
No doubt about it. The National Weather Service confirms it was an EF-1 tornado that injured two people and damaged more than a dozen homes.
From the sky you can almost see the path of the tornado.
"The whole thing didn't take a minute from back there all the way to over there," said Ron Killen.
Killen was doing some yard work when the twister roared past his house and straight toward his neighbors.
"And I looked out and I seen this trailer airborne. And I seen the roof peel off of it and their two vehicles were still in the yard, so I knew they were home. So my first response was to get down here to help them," Killen said.
Robert Dolga, 58, was still inside his trailer when the tornado sent it flying. His wife had been outside and took shelter in a nearby shed.
When it was all over, Killen began searching through the shattered remnants of the trailer to find his neighbor.
"There was a lot of debris on him: a bureau, file cabinets, some other things," Killen said. "I grabbed all that crap and throwed it off of him. Fortunately for him it was a mattress between him and all that stuff."
The injured man is expected to survive.
His wife also had minor injuries.
"It sucked the hat off my head, and I started floating, and I jumped in my bucket truck," said Tim Ebert, neighbor.
Ebert is one of the many residents here telling of their own close calls.
"It started pouring down rain and hailing. Off to my left, I heard the freight train sound," said June Stockton, who lives nearby.
Work is now underway to clean up the massive amounts of debris.
"All through this wooded section, all the trees are pretty much gone," said Buffy Madden, Marydel Fire Company chief.
A dozen homes were damaged; four of them now condemned. Power company crews are on hand to restore what Mother Nature ravaged in the blink of an eye.
The storm packed upwards of 80 mph winds. Forecasters issued a tornado warning.
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