TORNADO STRIKES COLLEGE PARK, KILLS 4

By Hunter Dortenzo
April 17

COLLEGE PARK, Md. A severe tornado touched down near the Route 1 area of College
Park at 10:15 a.m. on Monday. Heavy damage and four fatalities have been reported.

Prior to the tornados touchdown, the city of College Park had only been under a tornado watch.

College Parks mayor, Lara Hollenczer, addressed the media at a press briefing following the
disaster.

A tornado touched down in our community about a half hour ago, Hollenczer said.

According to details provided by the mayor, there have been four reported fatalities. The
fatalities occurred near Route 1 and Knox road. Heavy damage from the tornado can be seen in
the downtown area of College Park in the form of broken windows, fallen trees and downed
power lines. The College Park unit of the Prince Georges County Fire Department was among
the many responders to the scene.

At least one structure in that area has been severely damaged, said Hollenczer. In fact, several
firefighters and two firetrucks are currently trapped in Mowatt garage near [South Campus
Commons]. They are trapped in the garage at this point. We cannot reach them and that goes
back to because of all the power lines that are down around them.

According to the National Weather Service, the tornado was rated an EF3, a significant tornado
with winds from 158 to 206 mph.

Residents seeking shelter should go to Ritchie Coliseum on the campus of the University of
Maryland (UMD). College Park officials are currently trying to get in touch with UMD President
Wallace Loh and university officials to organize a shelter plan.

The mayor alerted that residents should use extreme caution if traveling to find shelter. Areas
with downed power lines should be avoided.

Many roads are impassable and we really do want to have people sheltered in place at this
point, Hollenczer said.

Adding to the damage that struck the community, the power is currently out in the College Park
area and is not expected to return in a timely manner.

The power is not going to come back anytime soon, said Mayor Hollenczer. We may have
more power outages in the upcoming hours. Heavy thunderstorms are coming our way While
the tornado is over we are still having severe weather issues for the next couple hours.
-more-
Mayor Hollenczer reached out to Governor Larry Hogan to issue a state of emergency following
the tornado. Resources from around the state, including those from Montgomery and Anne

Arundel counties, will be used to help with disaster relief. As of 11:21 a.m., a state of emergency
was declared by the governor.

This is a developing story. Updates will be posted as they become available.

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