Marylanders cleaning up mess caused by Sunday's severe storms

BALTIMORE -- Severe thunderstorms wreaked havoc throughout Maryland on Sunday. Trees blocked streets, power lines were ripped from homes, and creeks and streams overflowed leading to flooding.

Maryland residents said that while Mother Nature reared her ugly head across the area, the damage could have been much worse.

"This is probably the worst I've ever seen," said Edward Orwell, who has lived in Perry Hall for 21 years.

From Ellicott City to Harford Road in Glen Arm to Perry Hall and Southwest Baltimore, WJZ was On Your Corner, speaking with neighbors about the damage this line of storms caused. 

Clean-up efforts

The clean-up effort is only beginning as trees collapsed onto roads and into backyards.

"It just came out of nowhere," said Jim Shepard. "We weren't really scared until that wind hit and we started hearing things hitting the roof. Then we got scared, backed out of that part of the house, and just kind of, you know, said a prayer."

In Southwest Baltimore, the side of a rowhome collapsed. WJZ is working to confirm if this was related to the storms.

"I remember afternoon storms as a kid," said Perry Hall resident David Smith. "They came up every afternoon, pretty much, you know, but they came through in the afternoon, they were gone. It's not like now, everything's vicious."

Restoring power

The familiar sound of a chainsaw is ringing through the streets. 

BGE crews have also been working around the clock trying to restore power. In one person's backyard, a utility pole was damaged, and crews worked for hours to repair it.

"Power has been out since about 10 o'clock last night," Orwell said. "Power has not been restored. I have one neighbor over here whose power came off the side of her house. It's lying in her yard. I have another neighbor over here; he's lost about at least eight trees."

BGE says crews are continuing to work in Perry Hall to restore power. The company estimates it will be back on by Monday night. If you see any wires down, do not approach them. Call BGE at 877-778-2222 for help.

Damage control

The Shepard family woke up to large branches covering their back deck and yard. A branch crushed their air conditioning unit and caused damage to the back of their home.

"There was a big branch sitting on the compressors this morning and broke both of those, punched a hole in the siding, and put a couple of holes in the roof," Shepard said.

Smith maintains walking trails behind his home which is now blocked by a massive tree that's been in his backyard for decades.

"Well, I've got a chainsaw. As you can see, this one's going to take a little while to clear. In a couple weeks, I might have it cleared," Smith said.

No injuries have been reported so far, which neighbors are grateful for.

"Other than that [the damage to the house], we're all OK," Shepard said. "We didn't get hurt. The dog was OK, so we were happy. This stuff can be taken care of."