State of emergency declared in Dover due to damage following tornado warning
DOVER, Del. (WPVI) -- A state of emergency has been declared for the City of Dover after a confirmed tornado touched down, causing significant damage Thursday night.
Dashcam video shared with Action News shows the destruction as it happened. Pieces of debris could be seen flying through the air along North DuPont Highway.
"Honestly, it's a miracle. I don't know how we made it out of this without anybody being injured," Dover Police Department spokesperson Lt. Mark Hoffman said.
Police said the city is dealing with numerous downed trees, flooded roadways and other storm-related damage.
Residents described frightening conditions as the tornado passed through the city.
"I never experienced anything like it," said Julian O'Neill. "The craziest part was the sound of it. It was like a whistling sound, almost like a train sound. The rain was so bad and the wind was so bad, you couldn't really see it. All you could see was the trees bending down like crazy.
Reagan Coder, also of Dover, said the sound immediately signaled danger.
"I heard the train sound and I just knew. I knew it was a tornado. I knew I had to go into my bathroom," he added.
Two neighboring hotels both lost parts of their roofs during the storm -- the Days Inn and the Superlodge on North DuPont Highway.
Randall Butler has been living at the Superlodge for months. He was at work when the storm rolled through.
"It's unbelievable. Thank God I wasn't there because I was gonna take off, but I'm glad I didn't," said Butler.
The storm also left hazardous conditions for utility crews and emergency responders.
"As you can see there's power lines down, significant damage to poles. We have a roof structure hanging over power lines, so it's creating a dangerous situation for our power crews," Hoffman said.
Damage was also reported at the Kraft Foods facility and a Little League field on Electric Avenue, where a fence was knocked over, poles were ripped down and a tree brought down the scoreboard.
The storm system triggered two separate tornado warnings for Kent County on Thursday night.
According to the National Weather Service, a trained spotter reported a rain-wrapped tornado on the ground and flying debris around 6:18 p.m. Teams are expected to survey the damage Friday to determine the intensity, path, and extent of damage.
Dover police urged residents to stay home and avoid traveling so emergency crews can work safely. Authorities also asked people not to call 911 to report power outages.
