An intense storm damaged buildings and vehicles from Norwich to Hancock Saturday, July 18, knocking down trees and power lines and spawning a tornado that traveled about 16 miles through Broome and Delaware counties.
Authorities did not report any injuries or deaths resulting from the storm. Thousands of homes lost power across the region, many of which still did not have power by press time Monday.
The tornado touched down about three miles south-southwest of Sanford in Broome County and traveled to Hancock in Delaware County, in about 15 minutes, according to a Sunday report from the National Weather Service.
NWS estimated the tornado reached 95 mph winds, classifying it an EF-1 tornado. The storm caused also a 105 mph microburst near Rock Valley, the report stated.
Stephen Hood, Delaware County’s director of emergency services, said Monday that “just about every customer in the town of Hancock” lost power during the storm. He said debris also obstructed some roads in the area.
As of 9 a.m. Monday, he said, there were about 1,200 to 1,300 power outages county-wide, 700 of which were in Hancock.
The village and town declared states of emergency Saturday. The village lifted its emergency declaration Sunday, according to a news released issued at 9:30 a.m. The town of Colchester issued a travel advisory.
Hood said a section east of the village had “lots of trees, poles down,” but he was not aware of any structures deemed to be a total loss or damage to county property. He said some homes and sheds experienced damage.
NYSEG provided water and dry ice for residents Monday at the Deposit Fire Department and bottled water only at the Hancock Fire Department due to the prolonged power outages.
In social media posts Monday morning, NYSEG announced that its Oneonta division would field about 300 crew and its Binghamton division 400 crew to restore power to the respective coverage areas.
Hancock Town Supervisor Jerry Vernold shared a Facebook post Monday afternoon stating that according to NYSEG, about 1,000 remaining outages in the county would be restored by 11 p.m.
“Everyone should know that everything is being done to get us through this,” Vernold said in an earlier post stating that the town was coordinating with state Sen. Peter Oberacker, state Assembly member Brian Maher, NYSEG and other entities to respond to the situation.
While the tornado did not touch down in Norwich, the storm still caused damage and power outages.
Norwich Mayor Robert Jeffrey said Monday that about a third of the city lost power during the storm, almost all of which has since been restored.
“Several power lines were down throughout the city,” he said, adding that the Norwich Fire Department received 33 calls related to the storm.
He said the Norwich Department of Public Works will be focused on picking up debris from curbs through Aug. 3.
Less than a month ago, a tornado touched down in Pittsfield and Laurens in Otsego County, causing significant damage and displacing some residents.