A New York City Neighborhood Reacts to a Once in a Lifetime Tornado

I was born and brought up in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn and live not far from there today. I was visiting my sister in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania, when I heard of the damage from a possible tornado. To this stable community of brownstone, limestone and brick houses, a tornado was as far from people's minds as you can get. The area can get severe thunderstorms that originate from the Ohio Valley, march through Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and finally make their way across the Narrows to Bay Ridge and points around it. That's exactly what happened during the early morning hours of August 8th, 2007.

I had planned to return to Brooklyn on Wednesday, August 8th, and was spending a last night in Pennsylvania. I was awake almost all night from continuous storms that rolled across PA. At 4:30 a.m., the most violent storm hit the Pocono area, and within a half hour, my sister and I checked the radar to see if more storms were coming. That's when I noticed the two large, red blobs on the doppler radar that were about to descend on Brooklyn. I knew that Staten Island, Brooklyn and neighboring boroughs were going to get hit badly, but I had no idea that a tornado warning would be issued within an hour or so.

The Bay Ridge neighborhood was very lucky. The tornado, an EF2 tornado (based on the new Fujita scale) was the strongest to hit this century in the City. It tore roofs off several homes as it made a path from the west towards the northeast. Driving through these blocks today, one day later, you could see the path of the storm. The tornado jumped from 72nd street below third avenue across the area to about 52nd street and 8th avenue. Some streets were left pristine, while others have numerous downed trees, torn off awnings and roofs. One church, a Presbyterian church along 4th avenue, a major thoroughfare, had its huge, stained glass window in the front blown out.

The neighborhood reacted with shock. Coming at around 6:30 a.m., most people were just getting up or getting ready to go to work. Those in the path of the storm heard a strange roaring sound, felt the pressure of the wind against their houses and windows, but still did not realize what was happening. When the dust settled, they could not believe what was around them. But they were very lucky. No one lost his or her life in the area. If the tornado hit an hour or so later, more cars and people would have been moving around the streets. People would have been hit by trees or flying debris. The major of New York, Michael Bloomberg, along with the Office of Emergency Management, local police and fire management, our local senator and borough president, made sure the area was made safe and that debris be removed as soon as possible. Today, most streets that were totally impassable by trees, are now open for cars and pedestrians. The only evidence of what took place is that so many trees are cut off at the top or not there at all.

I have always believed that most people, especially in our large city, do not take severe storms as seriously as people in other parts of the country that have these storms as frequently. True, we have reason to be more complacent about things like tornadoes. However, I have seen people sitting in the park or playing tennis under an ominous sky with the sound of thunder getting closer, and not seeking shelter until the first raindrops fall. Maybe it's just New York. We're so used to everything that weather may not seem important unless it ruins outdoor plans or weddings. I think Brooklyn woke up to the fact that yes, it can happen here, even if it is a once in a lifetime event.