Twister leaves Webster merchants in awe of nature’s power

Aug. 06--WEBSTER -- "It sounds like a freight train running over you." That's how Kristen St. Laurent of Webster described the sound of the tornado that ripped the roof off the building that houses her dance studio at 6 Main St.

Ms. St. Laurent was taking shelter in a closet in the basement when the twister came through a little after 10 a.m. Saturday.

Fifty yards away, two buildings at 42 and 46 Main St. were so badly damaged by the tornado they were condemned and demolished Saturday.

A pile of rubble lay Sunday morning where the buildings -- one vacant, the other housing a hair salon and a tattoo parlor -- had stood a day before.

Ms. Laurent said she and her staff at the Dancer's Sole dance school were holding their annual open house and registration Saturday morning before the tornado struck.

"Luckily no one else but staff was here, the rain was so bad," said Ms. Laurent, 32. "My husband gave me a call and said you need to go to the basement, so we did. We were down there in a closet in the dark for about 15 to 20 minutes."

When the tornado went overhead it sounded like a train going over the building, she said. "We could hear crashing and banging," she said. "That was very eye-opening."

The storm damage to the roof led to "waterfalls of water coming in," she said. Her landlord sent a cleaning crew to get the water off the floor. "We had to throw away a lot of tumbling mats and props," Ms. St. Laurent said. Ceiling tiles need to be replaced, as does the front window, which was smashed.

"Who knew, an hour before that I was at the Honey Dew Donuts grabbing a coffee to come down here to work for the day," she said. "That's not even where my mind was at all. I didn't think that's how I would be spending my day.

"We'll probably be closed for a little while," Ms. St. Laurent said. "We're still standing, so that's what matters. Things can be replaced -- people can't."

Across the street at Webster Wine and Liquors, 57-59 Main St., owner Lori Curtis of Auburn was cleaning up Sunday.

"The fire marshal said I'm a lucky lady, because we only have damage in the back (on the) electrical," she said. "We think (the tornado) hit there, dropped and bounced over the building. We think it must have. We have a little damage, but the whole front of the building wasn't taken out."

Ms. Curtis said she had left to go the bank in Millbury on Saturday, and was driving in the pouring rain when her son called to tell her the tornado had hit. "It took me a good hour to get back," she said, describing the trees down as she drove on back roads to return to Webster. "I had to drive over tree stumps."

She said the liquor store probably won't reopen until Thursday. "We have a lot of damage in the back. We have wires down," she said. No electricity means no internet and no power to the refrigerators, she noted. "We have beer. I can't tell you how many coolers we have."

The insurance adjuster came out Sunday morning, she said. "Huge electrical damage," she said. "There's a car back there with an electrical pole on it."

Ms. Curtis said: "Our business -- you never would have thought one minute you're up and operating, and then you're shut down for days."

She described the residents of the apartment building next door at 41 Main St. being required to leave Saturday with one backpack apiece. In a few minutes these people's lives were upended, she said. "It's really sad," she said.

"I've been living in New England my whole life," said Ms. Curtis, who said she is in her 50s. "I got the warning on the phone and I was like, 'Yeah, whatever.'

"I've never seen anything like this in my whole life."

The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency said the tornado that touched down along the Webster-Dudley line on Saturday morning did its most significant damage on Main Street in Webster. Three buildings were condemned, and two other residential buildings were deemed uninhabitable.

State Building inspector, Adelle Reynolds, Bill LePage inspector in #Charlton, Ted Tetreault building commissioner #Webster & BOH agents are touring buildings assessing damage ahead of #MEMA & #FEMA. @telegramdotcom @BLeeTG pic.twitter.com/9GU18Mrlij

-- Christine Peterson (@ChrisPetersonTG) August 6, 2018

The National Weather Service said categorized the tornado as a "high-end EF-1" with estimated maximum wind speeds of 100-110 mph.

Forty-three Webster residents from three buildings were displaced initially, with all able to return to their residences, according to MEMA. The American Red Cross provided hotel vouchers to shelter 32 other residents.

Only one minor storm-related injury was reported, according to MEMA.

At Northeast Pizza, 29 Main St., the sign on the roof was knocked askew, but the pizzeria was open for business Sunday.

Co-owner Bill Staikos of North Webster said he was in the kitchen when the twister came through.

"I heard something loud like a bang," he said. "I came in the front to see what was going on. The lights were out and I saw a big gust of wind come that way."

He gestured out the window to the path the twister took along Union Street to Main Street.

"I thought it was a big gust of wind," Mr. Staikos said. "Turned out to be a tornado."

Tornado Response: https://t.co/uJwIxxIEBI pic.twitter.com/iTwg7pvezB

-- Town of Webster Ma (@WebsterMass) August 5, 2018

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