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WPXI Pittsburgh
Elrama neighbors react after tornado blows through the area
By Pete DeLuca,
2024-05-18
Residents in Elrama, Washington County are picking up the pieces after the National Weather Service confirmed a tornado blew through their community Friday afternoon.
“It was very dark and it was circular. You could see the trees circling a little bit,” said Deb Evans.
“I was looking for my puppy because he’s small. I thought I was in Kansas, like where’s my dog, I’ve got to find my puppy,” said Deb’s mother-in-law, Dee Evans.
Dee was sitting out back when the swirling winds picked up her three patio umbrellas, snapping one in half, collapsing another, and blowing the third away.
“I was sitting on my patio and then all of a sudden my umbrellas started lifting and I actually held on to one and it started to pick me up so I let go. My husband saw it fly past the window,” Dee said.
Right next door to Dee’s house, an above-ground pool crumpled.
Just down the street, massive tree limbs plummeted to the ground, taking power lines down with them.
“It got very dark, wind started to pick up, rain sideways, wind blowing, debris flying past the windows, then all of a sudden, the tree fell down, sparks, just littered the whole neighborhood and then it was gone,” Deb Evans said.
Lori Shoemaker was not home when the tornado hit, but she found out her porch was damaged and her yard was a mess from a call from her neighbor.
“She was like, ‘Your grill is laying in your yard, your chairs are down on the road,’ she said her husband was picking up my chairs, there were garbage cans all over my yard,” Shoemaker said.
Residents are a little shaken, but grateful the outcome wasn’t much worse.
“Thankfully everyone’s fine. It just took out the trees and the wires and everything but all the people and houses are okay. A few shingles here and there,” Dee Evans said.
The National Weather Service still needs to complete an official survey to determine the strength of the tornado.
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