CAPE CHARLES, Va. (AP) — Albert Thorn awoke in his rental
cottage Thursday to the sound of heavy rain and wind. Then, there was
screaming. Within minutes, the sky turned dark, cellphones pinged with
emergency messages and a tornado tore through a popular campground,
ripping awnings from trailers and flipping RVs on their sides.
A
couple from New Jersey was killed when a tree fell on their tent. Their
13-year-old son, in a tent next to them, had life-threatening injuries.
He was among three dozen people hurt.
"I love thunderstorms and I
went out to see it," said Thorn, of Monroeville, New Jersey. "There was a
wall of grey — wind and rain. It was coming through the trees right at
us. By then, we shut the sliding door and it was pounding them windows
like you couldn’t believe. You could hear people screaming before it
even got to us."
When the tornado hit about 9 a.m. EDT, more than
1,300 people were at Cherrystone Family Camping and RV Resort along the
Chesapeake Bay, a 300-acre playground of swimming pools, mini-golf, pier
fishing, crabbing and other activities on the state’s Eastern Shore.
Hospitals
prepared for mass casualties, but they did not come. Injuries ranged
from cuts to broken bones to life threatening, said Virginia State
Police Spokeswoman Corinne Geller.
"All hell broke loose," said
Joe Colony, a Stephensville, Maryland, resident who has been coming to
the campground for 30 years. "We got an emergency message on a cellphone
and within 30 seconds, the thing hit and it blew down 40, 50 trees in
the park."
Larry LeMond, chairman of the Northampton County Board
of Supervisors, said a local high school would be used as a shelter for
those who had nowhere else to go. Churches and other groups donated food
and clothing. Weekends would typically draw 2,000 people to the
campground, he said.
"In the summertime, it’s the biggest town on the shore," LeMond said.
The
National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for the area about
the time it struck. Many at the park said they had only a few minutes of
warning.
"The people who were in their tents had no chance to get
out of their tents to go for shelter," said Tori Thomas, of
Monroeville, New Jersey, who was staying in a cottage with her two
children, ages 1 and 3.
Joe Micucci said he and his wife rode out the storm in their camper as softball-sized hail fell.
"We
saw at least five (campers) that were flipped over. One was completely
gone and only had its wheels left," said Micucci, of Washington
Township, New Jersey.
The couple killed was identified as Lord Balatbat and Lolabeth Ortega, of Jersey City, New Jersey, Geller
said.
Peter
Glagola, spokesman for Riverside Shore Memorial Hospital, said the
hospital treated more than two dozen people. One patient in critical
condition was flown to VCU Medical Center in Richmond, he said. Most at
Riverside had been released, according to state police.
The Coast Guard said good Samaritans pulled at least three people from the water.
Across
the country in Spokane, Washington, severe thunderstorms knocked out
power to more than 60,000 customers and damaged dozens of homes
Wednesday. One driver suffered life-threatening injuries when a tree
slammed onto his car, impaling him. Severe thunderstorms were forecast
for the northern Plains on Thursday and could threaten the Deep South
and mid-Atlantic.