Cleanup continues across the Washington area after tornadoes ripped through the area, leaving homes and a local school with plenty of damage.
Although the roof no longer covers George E. Peters Elementary school after a severe storm hit Sunday, students and teachers have a new place to work and study. The private school students will move into the public Judith Hoyer School in Cheverly that houses pre-k and kindergarten students, according to an announcement made Monday night.
The small private school has about 130 students and was no match for mother nature. The twister ripped off the roof over the school's multi-purpose room sending debris crashing into the parking lot and flying hundreds of feet into trees.
During the storm, Karen McKinnie was inside the school. "As I looked out the window, the roof was being lifted up off the building."
Across the street, a firefighter saw the storm bear down and had no doubt about what kind of storm it was. "I saw the funnel cloud with debris in it whipping around going down Riggs road," he said.
Still Karen McKinnie counted herself grateful. She wasn't hurt and it happened on a Sunday, when the school's students were not inside.
Vice Principal Barbara Howard is hoping for the best. "It's going to take a long time, but we're trusting in the Lord."
"Its kind of devastating. I just want to go back to school. I just want to be in school again," said 8th grader Trisha Samuel.
The hallways Trisha Samuel has walked for nine years are now trashed and classrooms are destroyed.
The school, however, is grateful no one was hurt and people are promising to rebuild.
"It looks bad, but when you look at the bigger picture there's a diamond in the rough here. We are going to get together, put it back together and it will be better than ever," said teacher Gabrielle Agwu.
For now, it's about picking up the pieces. As school staff search for a place to hold classes, crews pick up the mess the storm left behind.
For more information on the school, visit their site: www.gepetersschool.org
In Waldorf, residents were also recovering form the same violent storm that struck in Chillum.
There is quite a mess to clean up, but residents like Dana Cole, who lives with his wife on Snowbell court, say that's the trade-off for coming away from yesterday's powerful storm virtually unscathed.
"She said listen to the train and I went to look out the window. I could see it coming through right at that time. I said tornado and we started to run," said Waldorf resident Dana Cole.
A tree swiped the front of Cole's house, taking down the gutter and some siding.
Still, despite all the debris and damage, most who live around here consider themselves lucky, because they vividly remember April of 2002 when a much stronger tornado hit La Plata, just a few miles down the road.
That twister not only leveled parts of the town, but also claimed lives.
"My office, in downtown La Plata, was completely destroyed. Debris was everywhere," said Waldorf resident Tom Hinman.
So, by comparison, the Coles feel relieved and blessed saying that things "Could've been much worse."
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