Bay City Community Comes Together Following EF-2 Tornado
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- After a night of destruction, neighbors pull together in one of the hardest hit communities.
The Elks Lodge unloaded thousands of bottles of water to give away and they'll be at Metapeake Elementary till 1 a.m. Tuesday.
Waters was a prized commodity during the blazing heat on Monday, as crews and average citizens tried to clean up the devastation that surrounded them in Bay City. One husband and wife loaded up their truck and started driving around to help.
"I live here. These are my neighbors, this is our community," says Kathy Vogel.
The EF 2 with top speeds of 125 miles per hour shredded trees and ripped apart some homes.
One real estate agent who helped to organize a food give away said contractors in other fields also started working for free.
"Just coming with chain saws, with back hoes, with anything they can get their hands on to one and help clear trees," says Ed Beres.
Across the street from where so many people lost power, a local organization set up with hundreds of cases of free water and ice as the heat lingered from the day into the night.
The lieutenant governor got a first-hand look at the damage on the ground and in the air. He said the storm took out critical power infrastructure, but the state is lucky.
"Most people feel very fortunate, but it was very scary at the same time," said Lt. Gov Boyd Rutherford.
Rutherford also said he's alerted the state's insurance commissioner about the claims that are about to roll in.
"On behalf of Governor Hogan and our entire administration, I want to offer our sincerest thanks to our first responders for their tremendous work helping to get this community back on its feet," said Lt. Gov. Rutherford.
"A lot of the trees were actually picked up and thrown," Brad Laning said. "The tree that hit the back of our house came from the front of this yard."
And in this neighborhood, where dozens have no power tonight, one woman offered up her fridge to store vital necessities.
"I don't have a chain saw, I can't cut down trees, I can't help people with their houses, but I figured we can do that at least," says Michelle Bowman.
And they are anticipating the service of free water will be here for days, because it might take that long before the power comes back on for all.
There is also a free cell phone charging station for those who need to power up their devices.
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