Earlier last month, my hometown of Westfield, MA, and the neighboring community of Springfield, MA, was struck by a tornado, which was a rare and frightening occurance for the region. Having never actually seen tornado damage first-hand, I was looking forward to the opportunity to view some of the hardest hit areas during my visit home to western Mass this week. Today marks the 6 week anniversary of the twister. The tornado was ranked an EF-3, and was the strongest on record in Hampden county (where both Springfield and Westfield are located).
Although I do find it fascinating to view what Mother Nature is capable of, it is also sad and very upsetting. Neighborhoods have been turned into ghost towns and large trees have been snapped in half like toothpicks. Windows are boarded up, tarps cover damages roofs, and trailers have been set up next to the destroyed homes to give families a temporary place to live. I saw one couple with all of their belongings strewn out over the yard, trying to organize and sort through the rubble in an effort to return some form of normalcy to their lives.
The photos below are ones that I took this week from the Springfield area. It is a testament to how slow and tedious the clean-up effort following a tornado really is. And remember, this was only EF-3 damage. I can't imagine the enormous amount of resources going into clean-up efforts for some of the other communites across our country that were hit much worse with EF-4 and EF-5 tornadoes.
