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(This is as dramatic a sign of climate disorder as the murderous
tornado in Joplin, Missouri. It is almost equivalent to an article
with the heading Blizzard kills 25 in Florida.)
NY Times June 1, 2011
At Least 4 Are Killed in Massachusetts Tornadoes
By ABBY GOODNOUGH
BOSTON — At least four people were killed when tornadoes touched
down Wednesday in Springfield, Mass., and a number of nearby
towns. The twisters flipped vehicles, collapsed buildings and
stunned residents who are not used to such violent storms.
Gov. Deval Patrick activated the National Guard and declared a
state of emergency. He said that at least two tornadoes had hit
and that serious damage had been reported in 19 communities, many
of them small towns along the Massachusetts Turnpike.
One man was killed when his car overturned in West Springfield,
Mr. Patrick said. Two other deaths were reported in Westfield and
one in Brimfield, he said, though he had no details.
With storms continuing into the night, Mr. Patrick found himself
in the unusual position of instructing New Englanders more
accustomed to blizzards to take shelter in basements and bathrooms
if necessary.
The scope of the damage was still unclear, but photos and videos
showed buildings with roofs and sides sheared off. The police were
going door to door in some neighborhoods to make sure residents
were unharmed.
“There’s just total destruction,” said Michael Day, a plumbing
inspector from Agawam who was driving through West Springfield
shortly after the first tornado struck around 4:30 p.m. “All I can
hear is ambulances. There’s a lot of police sirens around and fire
trucks.”
Tornado warnings had been issued for much of the state earlier
Wednesday. One of the confirmed tornadoes traveled east from
Westfield to Douglas, Mr. Patrick said, and the other traveled
east from North Springfield to Sturbridge.
Mr. Patrick said 1,000 members of the Massachusetts National Guard
were being dispatched to help with debris removal and, if
necessary, search-and-rescue efforts. He said that State Senator
Stephen Brewer had told him that Monson, a town of about 9,000
east of Springfield, appeared to have suffered some of the worst
damage.
“He said, ‘You have to see Monson to believe it,’ ” Mr. Patrick
said. In Springfield, Mayor Domenic J. Sarno said in a briefing at
11 p.m. that more than 40 residents had been injured and 250 were
spending the night at a shelter set up in a local arena.
While tornadoes are relatively rare in New England, one that hit
Worcester in 1953, known as the Worcester Twister, killed 94
people and injured more than 1,000.
Senator John Kerry, who called the twisters a “once-in-100-years”
event, said teams from the Federal Emergency Management Agency
were on the way.
Mr. Patrick said, “We are hoping and praying and working as hard
as possible to keep the fatalities limited.”
Katie Zezima contributed reporting.
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