Weather agencies received more than 900 reports of wind damage from Monday’s storms. Nearly 300 of them — either from damage to buildings or from downed trees and power lines — came from North Carolina and South Carolina, according to the Storm Prediction Center.
A spokesman for Baltimore Gas and Electric, Maryland’s largest electric utility, called the destruction “catastrophic.”
“This is damage that, if you work in electrical distribution for BGE your entire career, you may only see once,” spokesman Nick Alexopulos said at a news conference Monday night.
The storms prompted authorities to issue tornado watches in 10 states, from Tennessee to New York. On Monday afternoon, more than 29.5 million residents were under a tornado watch.
A preliminary damage assessment in Knoxville, Tennessee, found that an EF-2 tornado touched down there with winds up to 130 mph (209 km/h) and a trail up to 200 yards (200 meters) thick, it said. Tuesday at the Morristown, Tenn., office of the National Weather Service. The agency said it will continue to assess damage in the area.
Damage was extensive in the Knoxville area, and while power was restored to many customers, thousands more remained without power Tuesday morning, local board spokesman Gerald Witt said.
“We have made substantial progress, but extensive and severe damage remains and work will likely take several more days,” Witt said.
More than 1.1 million customers were without power Monday night in Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia and Virginia, all states along the route. of the storm system, according to the site poweroutage.us.
By noon Tuesday, the number of customers without power had dropped to about 240,000 in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Maryland, Georgia and Tennessee.
In Westminster, Maryland, dozens of vehicles were trapped in a tangle of downed power lines on a highway. No injuries were reported. Repair crews turned off power to the lines, and the 33 adults and 14 children were able to get out safely, Maryland State Police Superintendent Colonel Roland Butler said at a news conference Tuesday.
Rescuers did a great teamwork to save lives Monday night, Gov. Wes Moore said.
“There were people who were stranded in their vehicles who were able to sleep in their own beds last night,” Moore said. “And all this was thanks to all those who mobilized and to the emergency teams that allowed it.”
FOUNTAIN: Associated Press
