Today is the 11th anniversary of a deadly tornado in western Massachusetts.
Three people were killed and over two-hundred were injured.
The tornado left a 38 mile path of destruction from Westfield to Charlton.
More than three-hundred houses were destroyed, 14-hundred houses and 78 businesses were damaged and ten-thousand acres of forest land was leveled.
Commenting on the eleventh anniversary of the June 1, 2011 tornado that left a 6.2 mile long scar through the City of Springfield, Mayor Sarno stated, “Eleven years later, Springfield is again showing our resiliency and strength as we continue to work together to defeat this COVID-19 pandemic, and we will. This year marks the eleventh anniversary of the EF-3 tornado that devastated our neighborhoods. The reminder I want to take away from this is that even during what may seem as our darkest days, we will recover and see better times with hard work, belief, compassion and unity. Please join with me as we take a moment of silence to pause and reflect on our ability as a city to join together and work so diligently on making our city whole again. It has been a long and arduous recovery process, but the resiliency of the entire City of Springfield has shone through time and time again.”
The Mayor, as is his tradition stood on the steps of City Hall at 4:38 pm, the exact moment of the tornado to lead the city in a moment of silence.