Annapolis Suburb Comes Together To Clean Up Damage Left By EF-2 Tornado
PAROLE, Md. (WJZ) -- It was all hands on deck Sunday in the Parole neighborhood outside Annapolis Sunday morning. More than 50 people came out with only 24 hours notice and pitched in to help the residents of the neighborhood, who needed all the help they could get.
The Annapolis suburb was one of the hardest hit by an EF-2 tornado that hit the area Wednesday. Major cleanup is underway, but there was a bright spot as people from near and far rolled up their sleeves to help their neighbor, or a complete stranger.
Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley said the area has many elderly residents who can't do this cleanup themselves.
"This tornado hit about a mile from my house, but if this could have hit my house, I would want people to come help me," said Ayia Linquist, a resident who chose to help out an older couple on their porch with a big pile of branches.
"So I say 'hey do you want help with those do you want those out of your yard? do you want your yard back again?'" Linquist said.
"This is the definition of many hands making light work," said Maryland State Senator Sarah Elfreth to a crowd. "Wednesday was a tragedy, thank god there were no injuries but we have a lot of property damage and this is what community is, to come together and help our neighbors who need it the most."
Forty people were displaced as a result of the tornado. The mayor says many are staying with family, but that doesn't mean they dont want normalcy restored to their homes and yards. That's what Tyrone Blake is doing for his mother after a tree crushed her car.
"It was a mess, the whole place was a mess," Blake said.
But amidst the chaos, he's grateful.
"It was great to see everybody give a helping hand," Blake said.
Mayor Buckley said he's confident the area will be back on its feet.
"We're going to recover. It's what we do, we'll work hard to make it happen, but well be back," Buckley said.
The mayor says his next challenge will be West Street
Some of those businesses on West Street are institutions, and we lost them and we need to get them back on their feet," Buckley said.
The mayor says the City of Annapolis is using the resource center at Mount Olive to get people connected to the help they need. Feel free to swing by if your home was affected by the tornado.
