IDA BROUGHT HUGE RAINS TO REGION, TORNADO TO CAPE
A tornado touched down on Cape Cod early Thursday morning as the remnants of Hurricane Ida ripped through the region, leading to severe flooding that killed dozens of people along the East Coast.
One of those individuals who died in the recordbreaking rain was Connecticut State Police Sgt. Brian Mohl, a 26-year veteran of the force. He died while responding to severe flooding, as his cruiser was swept away by the swift floodwaters.
Massachusetts State Police said in a statement about Mohl, “He gave his life in the middle of the night, in the middle of a fierce storm, while he worked so the people he served could sleep sound in the knowledge that first responders were on the job, protecting their communities.”
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont called the sergeant’s death “a shock and a tragedy.”
Overall, 45 deaths were reported along the East Coast as of Thursday evening. People drowned in their cars and in flooded basement apartments.
No deaths were reported in Massachusetts, though massive amounts of rain fell. The highest rainfall totals were recorded in New Bedford with 9.50 inches and Fairhaven with 8.22 inches.
During the middle of the night, a tornado touched down in Dennis, according to the National Weather Service.
The EF-0 tornado with maximum wind speeds of around 75 mph happened at around 1:30 a.m. The tornado’s path width was about 15 yards, and it traveled about 500 feet.
The tornado caused damage to a few homes near the intersection of East Bay View Road and Wampanoag Trail. Windows were blown out at one home, and patio furniture was lofted across the street. Shingles were blown off the roof of another home, and three large oak trees were toppled.
“It was a small tornado, and luckily it was nothing like what they experienced down in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut,” said Kristie Smith, meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Boston office. “We got pretty lucky with this one.”
In Dennis, a resident who received the National
Weather Service tornado warning before 1 a.m. was able to seek shelter in their basement.
This came as the remnants of Hurricane Ida barreled through Massachusetts, delivering a deluge of rain in a short time period.
Streets were flooded, resulting in cars underwater and impassable roadways. There were reports of drivers and passengers needing to get rescued.
Storrow Drive in Boston was flooded, leading to a car getting stuck in the flood
waters, according to the National Weather Service storm report.
Route 24 in Fall River was flooded, as State Police shut down both sides of the highway. In Somerset, a person was rescued after their car was stuck in the flood waters.
In Waltham, a parking lot with school buses was filled with water.
Basements were also flooded throughout the region.