Gov. Patrick declares state of emergency

[Little Star]

Source: BostonHerald.com

Gov. Deval Patrick has declared a state of emergency tonight as is calling in the National Guard to help residents dig out after tornadoes hit Westfield, Springfield and reportedly in at least five more communities leaving a trail of devastation.

Patrick said tonight 19 communities have been affected and there is one fatality, still unconfirmed, from a car that was flipped over by a tornado in West Springfield. The governor also said 1,000 Guard troops have been deployed.

FEMA has also activated the Massachusetts Urban Search and Rescue Team, which responded to ground zero on Sept. 11, 2001, and for hurricane Katrina. A spokesman for the squad tells the Herald they are being sent to the Springfield area and also the town of Munson.

It all began around 4 p.m. when a tornado ripped through Westfield then Springfield knocking down trees and tearing off roofs as two storm systems that could produce more twisters moves east, officials and eyewitnesses report.



Read more: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/2011_0601tornado_touches_down_in_westfield/srvc=home&position=0

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

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[Little Star]

2. Are you joking? We have people dead due to tornado's.......

It's not even close to Joplin or Tuscaloosa but it is bad.

[TheCowsCameHome]

3. What exactly is your problem?

Does it have to equal Joplin or Alabama to be tragic?

[eShirl]

4. You want the Governor of Massachussetts to declare an emergency for Joplin?

I believe that is out of his jurisdiction.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

6. Are you truly serious??!?!? Or, just ignorant?

[qanda]

9. I'm not sure I've ever seen a more insensitive response on DU

Not sure if I should congratulate you or report your post. Wow! I have many friends in the area and I just heard from one who says it looks like a war zone. So sad that it has to be relative to other destruction to qualify as a real tornado.

[valerief]

10. Go back to your hate hole. It was scary here. nt

[cali]

12. 4 people are confirmed dead from this tornado. why don't you fucking

tell their families that their deaths aren't real. idiot.

[canoeist52]

5. This is still on-going and scary.

The winds are picking up and I'm waiting for my kids to come home from work.

[TheCowsCameHome]

7. Stay safe.

My son and his family are without power, riding out severe T-storms there right now.

[NM Independent]

8. Massachusetts? Since when are there tornadoes there?

[valerief]

11. I'm sure it must be The Rapture. It couldn't be due to climate change.

:sarcasm:

[friendly_iconoclast]

13. We've had the occasional tornado since at least 1787. 94 people were killed in 1953

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four-State_Tornado_Swarm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1953_Worcester_Tornado

The 1953 Worcester Tornado was an extremely strong tornado that struck the city and surrounding area of Worcester, Massachusetts on June 9, 1953. It was part of the Flint–Worcester tornado outbreak sequence, which occurred over a three-day period from June 6—9, 1953. The storm stayed on the ground for nearly 90 minutes, traveling 48 miles across Central Massachusetts. In total, 94 people were killed, making it the 21st deadliest tornado in the history of the United States.<1> In addition to the fatalities, over 1,000 people were injured and 4,000 buildings were damaged. The tornado caused $52 million in damage, which translates to $349 million today when adjusted for currency inflation. After the Fujita scale was developed in 1971, the storm was classified as "F4", the second highest rating on the scale.

[valerief]

14. We just usually don't get multiple tornadoes like today. This was

Plains weather. We get the occasional hurricane, flood, and ice storm. We always get thunderstorms and snowstorms. But multiple tornadoes??? This is unusual, whatever the cause.