SEO: F3 tornado hits Chucktown; injures several people

Tornado hits Chucktown injuring several people

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Tweet: F3 tornado touches down in #Chucktown leaving houses and schools damaged; several
have been injured but no recorded fatalities WCT:19 CTC:132

Chucktown officials plan to continue search, clean up, repair and investigations efforts
after F3 tornado touched down at 10:59 Monday morning, injuring several people and causing
severe property damage.
Tornado touches down
Shirley Snow, National Weather Service employee, explained details of the tornado
report. A tornado watch was issued at 7:45 a.m., moving to a severe thunderstorm warning by
9:30 and finally into a tornado warning at 10:50 a.m. Reports have come in of inch hail and 3
inches of rain in some areas of town, Snow said. The F3 tornado carried very severe conditions
including:
-

winds of up to 180 mph

sustained winds of up to 165 mph.

inch hail and 3 inches of rain in some areas of town

touched down mile south moving northeast on the ground for approximately two miles.

Tornado Effects
Rhonda Tracey, 16, of the 300 block of Patterson Avenue; and Victor James, 37, of
Longview Rd, have been pronounced dead by Ivy Lee, PR spokeswoman for the Chucktown
Medical Center. Lee also reported 28 injuries, with at least a dozen people in critical condition
and several undergoing surgery.
The storm caused extensive damage to the Chucktown. 30 to 40 homes have been
damaged, Axel Dent, PG counties coordinator of the Emergency Services and Disaster Agency
said.
James Watt, Public relations director of CLP, has reported over 3,000 homes and about
100 businesses left without power. The storm has really hit us hard, this is a class A emergency
and we have all of our employees in to deal with the crisis, Watt said. He estimated all
businesses and homes to have restored power by 9 a.m. All injuries and damages have appeared
to occur within the same area between University Avenue on the south and Patterson Avenue on
the north, according to Chucktown Police Chief. The Adams Elementary school is currently not
in session due to extensive damage.
What to expect

Search, rescue and recovery teams are still hard at work dealing with effects of the
tornado. Estimated time is several days, almost a week, until reports and investigations are
finalized. In the mean time, support groups and efforts to clean up the affected areas are in place,
according to Axel Dent.

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