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American Morning

Deadly Tornado Sweeps Through Southern Maryland

Aired April 29, 2002 - 09:03   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: "Up Front" this morning, deadly weather. Search teams have been going house to house in La Plata, Maryland searching for people and checking for structural damage.

That's where we are now joined by CNN's Patty Davis. There must be a lot of shock on homeowner's parts to see this stuff at daybreak. Good morning, Patty.

PATTY DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely heartbreaking for homeowners, business owners here as well. This tornado touched down around 7:00 last night. Paula, as you said, three people lost their lives. Search and rescue underway right now looking for more injured. There are about 90 so far that were injured, some taken to the hospital. Looking for more dead or more injured.

Now we are right now in the main street in La Plata, Maryland. As you can see, cleanup crews hauling away a car right there that was damaged, it's windows smashed out. Also this carrico (ph) building here, windows, the roof completely -- completely sheered there.

Now if we turn around here, you can see there's a telephone pole. We're in front of the Charles County Courthouse right now. Crews have lifted up this telephone pole but it was basically sheered off right at its base. That is the power of this storm.

As you look over into the courthouse lawn right here you see pieces of it slate roof sliced into the ground. So you could see if somebody was walking by here, it could have been chopped. Also coming off of the roof to a tree over to the right there, part of copper roofing just wrapped around the tree. Ambulances still ferrying people who were injured. You can hear them in the background right now. We have one coming by, it's actually the county building behind us actually they're driving by right now. Let's let the siren go.

Now about 100 houses smashed. The businesses in the downtown, a nearby mall smashed as well. A Kentucky Fried Chicken completely demolished. Now the residents here were lucky because they had warning. Warning sirens that blared. There were also radio and television reports. So many of them were able to get to safety -- Paula.

ZAHN: Boy, Patty these aerials really show this wide swathe that this storm hit. Do officials have any idea how powerful the storm was? DAVIS: Well we know that officials are telling us that this storm chops a 12-mile swathe on the ground starting here in La Plata moving through another town then into Benedict, Hughesville, then into Benedict. And in terms of the strength of the winds, that's the National Weather Services call. They're supposed to be here today to determine that. It's their call at this point.

ZAHN: But boy, just -- it had to be so powerful to do what it did to that telephone pole you showed us. You even showed us an old, old true that was uprooted.

DAVIS: Sorry. I can't ...

ZAHN: Unfortunately, Patty -- Patty's getting drowned out because of the helicopters in the area and the vehicles now that are removing some of the debris from the area. That was Patty Davis reporting live from La Plata, Maryland this morning.

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