Boston Area Residents Clean Up Following Tornadoes

Residents of Revere, Massachusetts have been busy cleaning up after a destructive EF2 tornado touched down there Monday morning. The tornado which had top wind speeds of 120 miles per hour traveled on the ground for about two miles, cutting a swatch 3/8 of a mile wide. Revere, a coastal city of 52,000 residents is located about 5 miles north of downtown Boston.

Tornadoes are rare in the state of Massachusetts. The twister that touched down Monday was spawned by a powerful storm that moved through the Boston area shortly after 9 a.m. Approximately 65 homes and businesses sustained substantial damage from the tornado, with over a dozen of those being left uninhabitable. Nearly 3,000 residences were left without power as the twister downed trees and power lines.

A massive cleanup effort has been ongoing since Monday in Revere as numerous homes and businesses suffered severe damage. Some businesses in the downtown area had their roofs completely ripped off and were left with large gaping holes in walls made by flying debris. Garbage cans and other items were strewn along downtown streets, many of which were flooded following the heavy rains that fell.

Three cameras at the high school were blown off the building, but not before capturing the fury of the tornado. Some witnesses reported seeing vehicles being picked up and overturned when the tornado struck. Others reported feeling their homes and businesses shaking while the storm moved through. Most people thought it was just high winds that were causing the damage and not a powerful twister that was soon after confirmed as being a EF2 by the National Weather Service.

One local business in Revere, an auto parts store was completely destroyed by the tornado in just a matter of minutes. Many residents reported that as they were closing windows and taking shelter from the twister that they saw bricks and other debris flying by. Broadway Street sustained some of the worst damage as many homes and businesses there suffered devastating damage. There were many large trees knocked down in the city which crushed structures and vehicles.

Dan Rizzo, Revere’s mayor, said Tuesday that the cleanup effort in his city was “nothing short of amazing”. Everyone in the city has been pitching in to help clean up the mess left behind. Within one hour following the tornado touchdown, residents were out and about picking up branches and sweeping up debris while work crews began the hard work of clearing roadways and repairing downed powerlines. While it is still too soon to put a dollar figure on the damage, insurance agents were going door to door Tuesday helping residents tally up their losses.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *