Published June 2, 2011

Wednesday’s tornadoes, which left at least three people dead and caused catastrophic damage to parts of central and western Massachusetts, bring to memory the Bay State’s deadliest tornado.

The 1953 tornado exploded through Worcester and, as WBUR’s Bob Oakes described it, “consumed houses, and spat out their splinters.” Lasting a little more than an hour, the storm left 94 dead. The storm went down in history as one of Massachusetts’ worst, and has its own nickname: “the Worcester tornado.”

Oakes reflected on the carnage of the storm in 2003, marking the 50th anniversary of the storm:

Related:

• Earlier: Deaths Reported After Tornadoes Hit Central, Western Mass.
• Raw AP Video: Tornado Touchdown In Springfield
• Eyewitness Accounts: ‘This Doesn’t Happen In Springfield’

Published June 2, 2011

Emergency crews have arrived in the western and central Massachusetts communities affected by Wednesday’s tornadoes. At least three people are reported dead. Officials — including Gov. Deval Patrick, Sen. Scott Brown and Sen. John Kerry — are assessing the damage.

Where to get help:

• Dial 211: This call service is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and provides residents with information on community services such as disaster relief, finding shelter and food assistance.
• Massachusetts Department of Veterans Services: If you are a veteran, contact your local VSO for assistance. You can find a listing of VSO offices here.
• Making disaster claims: The state Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation has an online guide that explains how to go about filing an insurance claim after a natural disaster.

How to help:

• Red Cross of Massachusetts Bay: Red Cross officials say donors can text REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10, call 1-800-RED-CROSS or click on REDCROSS.org to make a donation of any size.

More:

• Leaders Tour Tornado Damage As Rescue Continues
• Earlier: Deaths Reported After Tornadoes Hit

Published June 2, 2011

After tornadoes and other forms of severe weather tore through parts of western and central Massachusetts yesterday, residents are putting their lives back together. We’re continuing to update our coverage of the severe weather that killed at least four at least three.

Update 5:44 p.m.: Alright, let’s close this live blog for the day. Be sure to check wbur.org for all of the latest updates. We’ll have more on both wbur.org and on Hubbub tomorrow.

Update 5:36 p.m.: WBUR’s Jesse Costa toured some of the hardest hit areas of the state today and took some amazing photos. We’ll be getting many of them onto the site today and tomorrow.

Update 5:25 p.m.: The governor says some 290 people remain in emergency shelters throughout the state. Certainly a large number, but only about half as many as those who sought shelter immediately after the storms.

WBUR’s Curt Nickisch checked in from Monson, Mass., where the storm damage was rough.

“Some houses are literally flipped over, others completely collapsed into the basement,” Nickisch said. “Roofs are off of houses. It’s devastating. Amazingly, nobody was hurt.”

Update 5:20 p.m.: Only four Mass. counties remain under a state of emergency, nearly 24 hours after three tornadoes swept the state.

Gov. Deval Patrick rolled back a statewide state of emergency to include only Hampshire, Hampden, Franklin and Worcester counties, as cleanup and recovery efforts intensified.

Also, the National Weather Service confirmed that at least three tornadoes — not just one — were responsible for heavily damaging the central and western parts of the state, according to Patrick.

Update 3:50 p.m.: More from Monson: An aerial view from State Police:

Update 3:15 p.m.: WBUR’s Curt Nickisch passes along these photos from Monson, one of the communities hit hardest by the storms. Here’s one:

Update 2:20 p.m.: WBUR’s David Boeri reported from Monson on Here & Now earlier this afternoon. Here’s his dispatch:

Update 12:35 p.m.: At a press conference this morning, the head of the state police and the mayor of Springfield said that they think one of the people who died last night died of cardiac arrest. That means it may not be a storm-related death. Until we know more, we’ll report that the storms last night killed three, possibly four, people.

Update 12:28 p.m.: Do you need help recovering from tornado damage? Do you want to donate to help the recovery? Check out this resource page we set up.

Update 12:23 p.m.: After surveying damage by helicopter, Gov. Deval Patrick, Sen. John Kerry and Sen. Scott Brown spoke to the media.

Here’s some of what they said:

• Patrick: “The very first thing that is underway now, and was since the time the storm ended, is to complete the search and rescue. It’s about people first and foremost.”
• Patrick: “[Recovery will] take some time, there’s no doubt about it. But we are resilient people in the commonwealth and we’ve got a great team responding to this and it will all work out in the end.”
• Kerry: “There’s an enormous amount of work to be done, but we’re up to the task, we’re going to get it done. And if anything, the people that we have seen today and the stories that we have heard are unbelievably inspiring.”

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