SMITH ISLAND, Md. - On Monday, Smith Island residents continued assessing the destruction from an F1 tornado that struck the island last Thursday, and they found more damage than they initially anticipated.
“We’re just learning every minute of new damages,” says Cindy Andreozzi, who lives in Rhodes Point and has been helping with the post-storm assessment. “They’re just coming in and people are just now getting things assessed, and that may still be going on throughout the week.”
In addition to the homes that were destroyed in the Rhodes Point Community, the Rhodes Point Community Center and a local dentist office were also severely damaged. Damages include busted windows, torn and missing roofing, and broken power lines. Power was finally restored on the island on Saturday.
“We had appointments for people here on the eighteenth that are in desperate need, and we’re not going to be able to do those appointments now because of this,” Andreozzi added. “So, it’s going to make a huge impact on our community.”
Johnnie Parks, who’s lived on Smith Island for 66-years now, was on his boat when the tornado lifted it off the water and dropped it from mid-air. Fortunately, Parks was not injured, but both his boat and the dock that it was attached to were damaged.
“She tilted up, then she went on her side,” Parks says. “It was like she was trying to break everything.”
Parks and other community members say they’ve never experienced a storm as strong as this one. A home and a fuel depot for boats were also found damaged in the Ewell community on Smith Island.
There is currently no timeline for the damage repairs.