Recovery Efforts Underway in New England After Series of Tornadoes

Communities throughout New England were in the process of recovery on Saturday following a series of tornadoes that swept through the area the previous day.

A total of four tornadoes were confirmed in the states of Rhode Island and Massachusetts, with an additional investigation by the National Weather Service into a possible fifth tornado in eastern Connecticut.

The powerful winds on Friday resulted in the toppling of trees, destruction of homes, road flooding, and an extraordinary incident in Rhode Island where a car was lifted off a highway.

Fortunately, no injuries were reported.

The town of Scituate in Rhode Island experienced the most severe impact, with hundreds of large trees being uprooted or snapped at their bases. In Johnston, around 100 trees at Highland Park Memorial Cemetery were brought down by the storms.

This tornado marked the strongest to hit Rhode Island since an F-2 tornado made landfall in Cranston and Providence on August 7, 1986, according to the weather service.

Stoughton, Massachusetts also had a brief encounter with a tornado that caused trees to collapse, one of which landed on a shed.

Weymouth, Massachusetts witnessed another tornado that uprooted trees and removed shingles from a house’s roof. A witness taking shelter in a basement reported observing debris swirling outside a window.

Confirmation came for a fourth tornado in the North Attleborough and Mansfield area of Massachusetts.

Rhode Island residents affected by the tornado continued the debris-clearing process on Saturday, which involved the removal of fallen trees from roads. Armand Randolph from the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency mentioned that the primary focus was on moving and clearing the trees from roadways.

Meanwhile, Massachusetts emergency officials had not yet received any requests for aid from the towns that were in the tornadoes’ path, according to Christian Cunnie from the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency.

In New England, tornadoes are relatively infrequent, with only a few occurring each year. Although most are relatively weak, there have been historical instances of powerful tornadoes causing significant damage. In 2011, a powerful tornado resulted in three fatalities and extensive destruction in western Massachusetts. Additionally, a devastating tornado in 1953 claimed 94 lives and injured nearly 1,300 people in central Massachusetts, particularly affecting the city of Worcester. This tornado lasted for almost an hour and a half, causing damage to or complete destruction of around 4,000 buildings.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Tornado aftermath

More about Tornado aftermath

• National Weather Service (NWS): https://www.weather.gov/
• Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA): https://www.fema.gov/
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): https://www.noaa.gov/
• The Boston Globe (local news source): https://www.bostonglobe.com/