‘We’re hanging in there’: Prospect Avenue neighborhood cleans up after tornado

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — An EF-1 tornado sped through downtown Buffalo just before 1 p.m. Monday. The storm toppled down trees, powerlines, and even ripped roofs off of buildings. Those living on Prospect Ave., including residents James Carr and Robert Ruch, experienced the damage firsthand.

James Carr and his wife were at their home on Prospect Avenue in Buffalo when they saw debris swirling toward them Monday afternoon.

“This is the first time, up close and personal, that you really thought your life might be at risk,” said Carr. “We actually saw the Tornado coming, my wife was on the rear deck, and she quickly ran into the house, ‘shouting go to the basement, go to the basement!'”

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Then, on Tuesday morning, he was picking up that debris in his garden.

“I know that some of this came from Niagara Street,” he said. “I could actually see it as the tornado was approaching, taking the roof off that big building on Niagara Street and it was unbelievable that it could do that kind of thing.”

Robert Ruch, another Prospect Ave. resident, is left with a crushed car and railing after a tree toppled down outside his home.

“It looked like a movie outside,” Ruch said. “It was intense. We had people running in our house too that were out on their bikes. Someone got their car totaled because they were right in the middle of the street, a piece of roof fell on it and the first thing they did was run into our house for safety.”

Trapped in his house by the fallen tree, Ruch says the cleanup crews were quick to respond and that the debris was gone by the end of the night.

“I was surprised how quick the response time was,” he said. “I actually think we only lost power for two or three hours … maybe nine or ten that huge tree that fell was all removed.”

“The neighborhood is really cohesive,” said Carr. “We hang together and, you know, it’ll take a little while to do some repairs so we’re hanging in there.”

Despite the destruction on Prospect Avenue, no injuries have been reported.

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Hope Winter is a reporter and multimedia journalist who has been part of the News 4 team since 2021. See more of her work here.

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