THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, May 2, 1995 TAG: 9505020261
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON FRANK, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines
City officials shook their heads in amazement Monday as they watched workers using chain saws and cranes to remove trees and limbs from houses, cars and streets in the aftermath of Sunday's severe thunderstorm.
How, they wondered, could about 250 houses and apartments and scores of automobiles be damaged without anyone getting killed or seriously hurt?
``It's hard to believe this much devastation and not one injury,'' Portsmouth Assistant City Manager C.W. ``Luke'' McCoy said.
``I really think we were extremely lucky that no one was injured,'' said Fire Chief Donald Newberry Jr.
Most of it was luck. Enormous trees somehow missed people even as they crushed house roofs and cars. But Newberry also credited residents, who he said followed instructions from emergency workers.
``They did what we asked them to do,'' Newberry said. ``Everyone we told not to enter the dangerous zones did not go into them.''
Much of the damage consisted of broken windows, damaged roof shingles and other minor problems. But about 12 apartment units sustained major damage, and nine houses suffered damage severe enough to cause concern.
Three areas of the city were hit hardest, Newberry said. They were Prentis Park off Deep Creek Boulevard; Kingman Heights, including Westminster Village, near Airline Boulevard and Turnpike Road; and a small section of Oregon Acres off Caroline Avenue.
About 40 families were still being housed in motels Monday night until their homes could be made safe, Mayberry said.
Many of the displaced families live in Westminster Village, a 96-unit apartment complex on Turnpike Road that was heavily damaged by the late-afternoon storm.
``Man it was roaring out here on Sunday,'' said Alvin Urquhart, 34, as he carried personal items out of his Westminster apartment Monday. ``I'm just glad it didn't touch down.''
Like Urquhart, other residents reported hearing tornadolike winds and seeing whirling clouds when the storm struck. But an official with the National Weather Service said Monday that the pattern of damage indicated there was no tornado.
Bill Sammler, warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Wakefield, said the damage was probably caused by a ``downburst'' or ``microburst,'' which occurs when strong thunderstorms produce winds that blow straight down to the ground.
``These look to be straight-line winds,'' said Sammler, who on Monday visited the hardest-hit neighborhoods. ``But these winds can be deadly. We are very lucky someone wasn't injured or killed.''
Electrical power and natural gas service was expected to be back on for all residents this morning, officials said, and the displaced families should be allowed to return home sometime today.
Newberry said a damage estimate should be available after the cleanup is complete. ILLUSTRATION: Color staff photo by MARK MITCHELL
An oak tree fell onto this Westminster Avenue apartment during
Sunday's storm. Falling trees missed people as they crushed roofs
and cars.
B\W photo
Workers in Portsmouth used chain saws and cranes to remove trees and
limbs from houses and cars, such as this one, on Westminster Avenue.
Residents reported hearing tornadolike winds, but officials say the
damage was not caused by a tornado.
KEYWORDS: STORM WEATHER HAMPTON ROADS PORTSMOUTH TORNADO by CNB