LA PLATA, Md. (AP) _ With a third of its businesses and more than 100 homes destroyed or severely damaged, this community south of the nation's capital is coping with being once again the site of the strongest tornado ever recorded in Maryland.
The Sunday night storm killed three people and injured nearly 100 more in La Plata. A preliminary assessment by the National Weather Service rated the twister an F5 on the Fujita scale, the most powerful level.
``It is so shocking to go through our town and see it almost leveled,'' said town manager Doug Miller. ``We're just trying now to get the essential services back and start cleaning up.''
Under the Fujita scale, a twister with an F5 rating has winds from 261 mph to 318 mph. Sunday's tornado left a trail of damage 26 miles long and extending from 50 feet to more than 400 feet wide in places.
Maryland has never had an F5 and only two F4s are on record _ including one in 1926 that killed 14 schoolchildren in La Plata.
A total of six people were killed across the country as the storms rumbled throughout the Tennessee and Ohio valleys on Sunday before hitting Maryland. Thousands lost power.
At least 30 people were injured in Providence and Irvington, Ky., where a 32-year-old man died when he was thrown from his mobile home. Dozens were injured in southern Illinois and a 69-year-old woman was found dead outside her home in Dongola.
Funeral services were scheduled for Tuesday for Billy Hoover, 12, who was at a birthday sleepover at a friend's home near Marble Hill, Mo. A tornado pulled the child from the home and tossed his body 50 yards.
La Plata was under a 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew for the second consecutive night Monday. Officials said the curfew would continue at least until electricity is restored to the 10,000 to 20,000 customers still without power in surrounding Charles County.
During a Monday tour of the destruction from the air, Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend said the tornado that slammed though La Plata appeared to have moved ``like a bouncing ball.''
Much of the area was cordoned off and residents had to have a police escort to get to their property. Public schools remained closed in southern Charles and Calvert counties Tuesday.
Charles County officials negotiated with state and federal authorities to find an appropriate landfill site for the tons of debris that will have to be dumped as demolished buildings are cleared away. Residents worked to board up windows and patch roofs on still-standing homes and businesses.
Gov. Parris Glendening declared a state of emergency for Charles, Calvert and Dorchester counties, freeing the National Guard to help. Sens. Paul Sarbanes and Barbara Mikulski toured the devastation Monday and promised to expedite federal help.
The storm killed two people in La Plata and one in Prince Frederick in Calvert County. Ninety-five people were injured, according to the Charles County Sheriff's Office.
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