Associated Press
LA PLATA, Md. – Deborah McClain was hiding in her basement with her husband and six children when La Plata was ripped by a deadly tornado, one of the most powerful in Maryland history.
“When it was over, I went upstairs and all you could see was the sky,” said McClain, 41. “The roof was gone. The wall was gone. The beds had gone out the window.”
Tornado-ravaged cities from Missouri to Maryland picked up the pieces Monday, a day after an unusually potent batch of storms plowed across the eastern half of the nation.
At least six people were killed, including three in a pair of hard-hit Maryland counties south of the nation’s capital. More than 100 people were injured across the country and thousands lost power.
The tornado that hit La Plata was an F5, the most powerful, according to a preliminary determination by the National Weather Service. In Charles County alone, the twister destroyed six houses and left a swath of damage 24 miles long and 400 yards wide. Damage still needed to be evaluated in Calvert County.
Besides killing three people, the tornado destroyed an elementary school. Public schools in Calvert County were closed Monday and today. The roof caved in at the Rock Church, which put up a small, temporary sign reading “Rock Church. God in still in control. Call for prayer.”
The storms struck states throughout the Tennessee and Ohio valleys on Sunday before hitting Maryland. The northern edge of the system brought heavy snow to Wisconsin and Minnesota.
Copyright ©2002 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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