A barn roof at Poor House Farm Park in Martinsburg was damaged during Tuesday’s storm.
MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — Although Tuesday’s storm only lasted for a brief period of time, the high winds created widespread damage throughout the Eastern Panhandle.
According to Steve Allen, director for the Berkeley County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, the storm caused lasting effects beyond downed power lines and trees.
Berkeley Medical Center was put on “fly by” notice, meaning no new patients were brought to the facility by ambulance, although the hospital still accepted patients who arrived at the Emergency Room.
Berkeley Medical Center was one of the facilities that lost power due to the storm, and although it continued to operate on a generator, according to Allen, it was not working at full power.
The storm also affected local residences, destroying one home and displacing a family.
“On Cannon Hill Road, we had a trailer that was blown off its foundation. That family went to the Hedgesville Fire Station, and the American Red Cross was asked to assist that family. No one was injured,” Allen said.
Additionally, about 300 campers were left without power or sewer at Camp Tomahawk in Hedgesville who were there as part of a Salvation Army program that offers camping to children in the Baltimore/Washington region.
Although the camp staff and the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Department were able to devise a system to enable the septic system, without power and a way to feed the children, the campers were expected to be bused back to their homes Wednesday afternoon.
Emergency services was also authorized establishing four cooling stations for residents without power at South Berkeley Volunteer Fire Department, Hedgesville Volunteer Fire Department, Back Creek Volunteer Fire Department and Baker Heights Volunteer Fire Department.
The Bedington Volunteer Fire Department did not act as a cooling station because, as of noon Wednesday, it remained without power.