Historic storm that brought 4 tornados to LI leaves homeowners with long cleanup ahead

Residents tell News 12 that their next steps include lots of tree cutting, cleaning up the debris left behind and reaching out to contractors and their insurance company.

News 12 Staff

Nov 15, 2021, 11:37 PM

Updated 1,136 days ago

Share:

Homeowners are cleaning up the devastation from a destructive weekend storm that saw four tornados hit Long Island in a single day.
This is the first time in Long Island's history that four tornados were recorded in one day and the first time any tornado has hit Long Island in the month of November.
According to the National Weather Service, a 50-yard EF-0 tornado touched down in East Islip, and at one point lifted over the John F. Kennedy Elementary School sports fields. It uprooted a few dozen trees in the area.
Winds of around 85 mph blew near the area around 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
East Islip resident Peter McCarthy says he was sitting just feet away from where a huge tree crashed into the back of his house.
"I was sitting in my chair watching TV, the phone alarm went off and as I looked at it, I was trying to read it as quick as possible – ba boom – came right down," McCarthy says.
His house now has holes in the roof. He says the cleanup and rebuilding will take a while. However, he says "it's a blessing" that they weren't hurt.
Other neighbors had trees fall on their front yard and were lucky that their houses weren't damaged in the process.
Residents tell News 12 that their next steps include lots of tree cutting, cleaning up the debris left behind and reaching out to contractors and their insurance company. They expect it to be weeks, if not months before they're fully restored from the damage that was left behind from the tornado.
Workers from a tree service also tell News 12 it took them all day to try to get down a massive oak and they'll be back in the area on Tuesday.