(U-WIRE) COLLEGE PARK, Md.'A fast-moving tornado ripped through College Park Monday, killing two University of Maryland students, forcing the evacuation of most of North Campus, destroying buildings and wreaking havoc throughout the campus.
Maryland Gov. Parris N. Glendening visited the campus Monday night and declared a state of emergency in Prince George's County. The campus was open Tuesday, but classes were canceled.
Capt. Chauncey Bowers, of the Prince George's County Fire and EMS Department, said two female students who were driving on University Boulevard were killed after the tornado picked their vehicle up and threw it into the rear of Easton Hall.
Forty-seven people, none with life-threatening injuries, were taken to area hospitals, Bowers said.
Five people were rescued from the debris of the trailers, Bowers said. Search dogs and thermal imaging cameras were used to make sure no one else was trapped in the rubble.
At least 2,500 students were displaced Monday when six dorms were evacuated for more than five hours due to damage from the storm, campus spokesperson George Cathcart said.
'We do have damage in probably six resident life buildings,' Cathcart said. 'None of it is really serious it seems at this point'trees on porches, [roofing materials] pulled loose, broken windows.'
Cathcart confirmed the two fatalities and said that other campus injuries were 'mostly cuts and nothing serious.'
Calvin Meadows, a meteorological technician with the Baltimore-Washington office of the National Weather Service, said a tornado estimated to be traveling at about 40 miles per hour moved from Stafford County, Va., through Washington and into northern Prince George's County.
Meadows said the tornadoes were not a surprise and warnings were issued at about 5:10 p.m. for northern Prince George's County. He said high pressure over the past several days has caused moisture over the Eastern Seaboard.
That moisture, combined with a cold front, triggered a tornado.
University of Maryland president C.D. Mote Jr. said he was sitting in his office when the sudden tornado hit.
'It's total devastation,' he said. '[The tornado was] impressive in its voracity.'
Considering there were only a few seconds of warning, Mote applauded the campus for its response effort.
He also said the tornado is the latest in a series of dilemmas the campus has had to deal with this month.
'It's pretty hard to run a campus right now,' he said. 'I can't wait until September is over.'
