Delaware tornado cuts destructive path

BRIDGEVILLE - Officials toured the area between Bridgeville and Greenwood Sunday following a deadly tornado.

In its wake, authorities reported Daniel Bawel of Greenwood died in a house collapse on Tuckers Road, an area hit particularly hard.

"Our hearts go out to the loved ones and family and friends of the deceased elderly gentleman," Gov. John Carney said.

The tornado, which actually ran from Bridgeville to Ellendale, was classified as an EF-3 by the National Weather Service, with maximum winds of 140 mph. It stretched a path of 14.3 miles.

It was the second-strongest tornado to hit Delaware. The strongest struck in New Castle on April 28, 1961.

The National Weather Service said the tornado began around 5:59 p.m. near the intersection of Polk and Dublin Hill roads in Bridgeville where a section of a small barn roof was blown off. The tornado continued east-northeast crossing Seashore Highway in a path that devastated buildings along the way.

The tornado circulation dissipated around 6:19 p.m. just after turning over an irrigation pivot near Hummingbird Road and Benson Road in Ellendale.

The longest track tornado on record in Delaware struck Kent and New Castle counties on Aug. 4, 2020 during Tropical Storm Isaias. It traveled 35.5 miles from Dover to near Glasgow and had an intensity of EF2.

The only other recorded fatality in a tornado in Delaware occurred with an F2 on July 21, 1983 near Hartly.

Bracing for action Sussex County Emergency Operations Center director, Joe Thomas, said his center began receiving reports of downed power lines and damage to homes as the funnel cloud made its way toward Ellendale.

First responders began checking homes but were hampered by a second thunderstorm, he said. After standing down about midnight, responders resumed operations Sunday morning.

Following the tornado, several dozen homes and structures were reported damaged, with some destroyed completely.

"Some, only shingles blown off, a roof or a broken window. Then, we have some that are actually destroyed or gone," Delaware Emergency Management Agency director A.J. Schall said Sunday.

The Delaware Department of Transportation's Area 2 yard, near Bridgeville, also took a blow.

"Several of our buildings are completely destroyed," said DelDOT Secretary Nicole Majeski. "We'll be probably around the $5 million mark, as far the assessment. We're still analyzing the amount of equipment that has been damaged that we will have to replace." Noting support from the American Red Cross, the Department of Health and Social Services, the Delaware Fire School and the county, canvassing of the affected areas was conducted early Sunday, "to start the recovery process of these individuals," Mr. Schall said.

"The state is not going to be able to help everybody rebuild on their own. But with us, the volunteer groups, their insurance companies, we'll do what we can over the next few days to figure out what programs we can help and assist people with," he added.

'Train' came through David Foley and his wife were home during the tornado that struck their neighborhood on Doe Run, off Tuckers Road on the outskirts of Greenwood.

"We were sitting in there. Ten minutes of 6, it was calm. At 6 o'clock, we heard the 'train' start to come through. And the 'train' came through," he said. "I was sitting right behind that front window." Their home of 20 years has a few missing shingles but no structural damage. Others nearby weren't so lucky. One residence two doors down took a major strike from a huge tree that punctured its second floor.

"That house is only about three or four years old," said Mr. Foley. "They lost a lot." Considering the devastation, Gov. Carney said he believes the outcome could have been much worse had the storms swept through a more populated locale.

"We're lucky because there weren't more homes that were destroyed," he said. "I talked to one woman whose house was completely gone. She was out to dinner and came home, (and) her house was gone, and she is grateful that she wasn't home." Features editor Craig Horleman contributed to this story.

Staff writer Glenn Rolfe can be reached at grolfe@iniusa.org. Follow@glennrolfeBTBN on Twitter