Storm displaces dozens of Greenbelt families as downed limbs damage roofs
Seven Empirian Village buildings deemed uninhabitable
The Empirian Village apartment complex is working to relocate dozens of families after damage from Sunday's storm forced them from their homes.
Seven buildings out of 266 at the Greenbelt complex were declared uninhabitable because of damage from falling trees, said Veronica Davis, the complex's special projects manager, and a handful of individual apartments also were condemned. Estimates for the cost of the damage were not yet available.
Empirian Village is working to put the displaced families into other apartments in the complex, but has temporarily placed nearly 50 families in hotel rooms, Davis said.
About 70 families had been displaced, said Davis.
"We know that number's going to grow ... they're still trickling in," she said.
Much of the Greenbelt area was ravaged by Sunday's storm, which left many residents without power.
Despite downed trees all over the area, there were no reports of injuries, said Beverly Palau, the city's public information officer.
While a handful of residents remained without electricity, power had been restored to the vast majority of the city as of Wednesday, said Assistant City Manager David Moran.
Madarocka Ahaghotu, who lives in Empirian Village with her 10-year-old daughter, said she was surprised when her apartment was condemned due to roof leakage.
"It was kind of a shock," said Ahaghotu, who didn't think there had been much damage.
Ahaghotu said they were lucky because there was very little damage to the items in the apartment. She expected to be relocated into a townhome unit after a few nights in a hotel.
Rosemary Pezzuto, director of the Empirian Village Community Center, said donations of gift cards would be a big help to displaced residents, but urged people not to bring food or clothing because there was no place to store it.
Gift cards can be dropped off at the information desk of the Greenbelt Police Department at 550 Crescent Road in Greenbelt.
Sunday's storm also caused significant damage at the Seven Springs apartment complex in College Park, where six buildings out of 15 suffered severe roof and wall damage due to high winds and falling trees. Occupants of more than 70 apartment units had to be evacuated, said Mark Brady, a spokesman for the Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department. He said no cost estimate was available as of Tuesday.
Brady said most of the residents are staying with friends and family, and the complex's owners have housed some in vacant or communal areas and reimbursed others for hotel stays. He said there is no current timeline for their return.
"Some of the buildings, there are significant issues with large trees," Brady said. "It is something that can be repaired. I just think it's going to take a lot of time."
Staff Writer David Hill contributed to this report.