Powerful storm hits Ocean City
OCEAN CITY, Md – A powerful storm caused considerable damage in a residential area Friday morning.
Early Friday morning, severe thunderstorm winds picked up so quickly–and so violently–that residents barely had time to take cover. “The rain started to come down harder, so we turned around to come inside, and at the same time we saw wood flying into the canal here,” said vacationer Jennifer Rice.
Officials say that even though the damage was significant, with the roof of the unit fully removed and sent into the canal, only that single building has been affected.
Ryan Whittington of the Ocean City Fire Department said, “At this time it looks like only one building is affected in the immediate area. Further damage assessment will be done by our Emergency Management Team as well as the Fire Department and Police Department.”
The cleanup effort started immediately and continued through the day. Residents and officials praised the timely response of the Condo Association along with the efforts of a number of local departments: “Our collaboration with our state and local partners has been phenomenal. Of course we have the Building Department, the Fire Department, Police Department, Maryland Natural Resources Police,” said Whittington.
With Memorial Day Weekend festivities starting Friday, speed was a priority for the crews responding. But more than anything, the focus was dealing with the wreckage as safely as possible: “That’s the number one priority, when you come to the Town of Ocean City, you live here, you visit here, we want to make sure that should something like this happen, we’re providing a safe environment for you,” said Whittington. No injuries have been reported in the incident.
Officials added that a key part of the cleanup effort is making sure no debris makes it out into the bay, in anticipation of increased boating traffic for Memorial Day Weekend.
Ocean City’s Building Division will be conducting a damage assessment to ensure the structural integrity of the building, making sure it’s safe for all residents of the condo.
Officials said that with the current rate of the cleanup, they expect that the scene should be cleared by tomorrow.
