“I never thought I would see a tornado,” says local resident Maryann Summers.
Summers lives in one of the Wilmington-area neighborhoods a tornado tore through on Thursday evening. As storms swept through the region, a twister touched down around 7:12 p.m. near Marshallton. Reported damage appears to be concentrated around Kirkwood Highway.
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“I saw the beginning when the trees all started bending,” Summers says.
When the alarms on everyone’s phones began to go off, Summers took shelter to wait out the tornado. Once the chaos subsided, she and her neighbors went outside to take a look at the damage to their Wilmington neighborhood.
“There were a lot of trees down, and pieces of roof all over,” Summers continues. “So many people with solid fences lost panels because they just blew away.”
With poles and trees fallen, power has been off and on in some of the surrounding neighborhoods. The storm also did damage to a nearby shopping center, taking sections of an Acme store’s roof. Cart returns were damaged as the tornado moved through the area.
While there was plenty of destructive impact on trees, poles and some structures, no injuries were reported as a result of the storms throughout Delaware.
“The important thing is no one was seriously hurt, thank God,” Summers says.
Less than 12 hours later, the First State is under another tornado watch until 2 p.m. With conditions favorable to form another tornado, the National Weather Service recommends residents stay alert and keep an eye on the weather. With the remnants of Storm Debby moving into the region, Delaware residents can also expect plenty of rain and potential flooding this weekend.
Related: Here’s what to Do on a Rainy Day in Delaware
