Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Similar to the storm that hit Bladensburg in June, a microburst hit Fredericksburg Sunday.
When the microburst hit Bladensburg on June 22, residents were surprised by the amount of damage the storm left in its wake. On Sunday night, residents of Fredericksburg felt the same way, when a storm hit their community. A strong, downward draft pulled roofs off houses and knocked down large trees. The National Weather Service confirmed Monday that this storm was a microburst too. Read the full story on Fredericksburg Patch. Was your property damaged after the Bladensburg microburst? How long did it take for you to repair the damage?
Friday, June 29, 2012
Bladensburg High School shelter closes, but resources are still available for displaced residents at Landover center.
A shelter for victims of last Friday's powerful microburst which swept through Bladensburg and Cheverly closed yesterday afternoon. The shelter, located at Bladensburg High School, housed at one point up to 20 people who had been displaced by the powerful storm. In all, more than 600 area residents were displaced when the storm dealt heavy damage to a number of homes and apartments. County emergency management officials will continue to operate a satellite service center at 425 Brightseat Road in Landover, open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. There, residents affected by the storm will be able to seek assistance for their disaster related needs. “Over the past week, nearly a thousand County, State, and municipal employees along with over a hundred…
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Donations of clothing and food desperately needed as officials work to get people back in their homes.
County Executive Rushern Baker has repeated calls for area residents to help with relief efforts for victims of last week's powerful microburst in the Bladensburg and Cheverly areas. “We greatly appreciate those who have already made donations since last weekend," said Baker in a statement issued earlier today, "and hope the donations will continue to assist our displaced residents recovering from this devastating storm.” About 600 residents have been displaced by storm damage to their homes and have not been able to retrieve many of their personal effects. County officials have set up a special fund to get food, housing assistance and clothing to those displaced. Contributions to the fund can be sent by check or money order to the Prince …
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
A chance for city residents to rid their yards of storm debris.
Got tree branches, Hyattsville? Well now Hyattsville is helping you get rid of them. The city has hired a contractor to go throughout the city starting on Thursday, June 28 at 7:30 a.m. to collect and chip tree limbs felled by last Friday's powerful thunderstorm. Happy hauling, everybody
Monday, June 25, 2012
County officials set up charitable relief fund, seek clothing and food donations to help victims of Friday's storm.
The microburst which swept through Bladensburg and Cheverly last Friday has left at least 21 homes uninhabitable. Now county officials are turning to the public for help as they deal with those displaced by the storm, setting up a special fund for victims and soliciting donations for a food drive. So far, the Prince George's County Department of Environmental Resources has inspected 126 structures for damage. A variety of county, state and nonprofit agencies are trying to get assistance to those impacted by the storm. County officials also are urging residents and property owners whose structures may have sustained structural damage during the storm to call into the county Office of Emergency Management to schedule a damage assessment. …
Federal disaster relief funds could be unlocked if assessed storm damages cross threshold.
UPDATE: 1:56 p.m. - A revision to the press release now instructs residents to call the hotline for structural damage assessments only. Original article continues below. Residents who may have been impacted by the storm and microburst which ripped through the Bladensburg area are being urged to arrange for damage inspections. "As the County assesses damages and determines whether it meets the threshold for a Declaration of Emergency in order to receive federal assistance, it requests all residents impacted in the towns of Bladensburg and Cheverly as well as any nearby areas of this microburst to call the Emergency Operations Hotline," read a press release from the Prince George's County Office of Emergency Management. The hotline number …
Reader Susan Cantorna sends in photos of the damage caused by the recent storm. Share yours, too!
Power out only in isolated pockets following fierce Friday storm.
Power has returned to the vast majority of customers affected by last Friday's powerful thunderstorm, according to data from Pepco. Shortly after the storm on Friday evening, close to 8,000 Pepco customers were without power in the Hyattsville and Bladensburg areas. By Saturday evening that number had been cut by more than half. By late Sunday evening, Pepco's power outage map showed only isolated outages centered in West Hyattsville, Bladensburg and Cheverly.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Pepco officials say it could be until Monday before full power is restored in the area.
After 36 hours, thousands of area residents and businesses remain without power following a powerful but brief thunderstorm which swept through the area on Friday evening. According to Pepco, roughly 2,000 customers are without electricity in the Hyattsville, Mount Rainier and Bladensburg areas. Pepco officials tell the media that it could be until Monday before full power is restored to area neighborhoods. As of late last night, areas in the southern and western sections of Hyattsville remained the hardest hit areas of the city. Elsewhere, more than 600 people in Bladensburg and Cheverly remained displaced after Friday's storm unleashed a powerful microburst whose high winds caused a considerable amount of damage.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Residents describe a tornado-like storm that tore roofs off houses, caused minor injuries.
A sudden storm that officials called a "microburst" -- a violent downward draft of air -- swept through a Bladensburg neighborhood last night, snapping trees, blowing roofs off buildings and leaving residents in the dark and seeking shelter. Looking for real time information about your neighborhood? Sign up for our newsletters, find us on Facebook and Twitter. Residents were told they could go to Bladensburg High School at 4200 57th Ave. for shelter at 2 p.m. Saturday, if they were displaced by the storm. Transportation was being provided by Prince George's County to take those who sought shelter. Officials said the storm hit at 8:07 p.m., damaging some 15 apartment buildings and a single-family home on Newton Street between 52nd and 55th …
Ivan Neal
11:40 pm on Saturday, June 23, 2012
It was crazy....I work at the Italian Inn which is located right up the street from Bladensburg High Schol....at 6221 Annapolis Road Bladensburg, Md.....we lost power to the business and when I went to work today it was still down....but what I can tell you is that I saw a convoy of electric companies from out of state lined up across from our restaurant......I tell you it was not good...it was … more ›