WEST HAVERSTRAW, N.Y. — If it wasn’t bad enough that folks from Rockland County just finished rebuilding their homes after Hurricane Sandy, they get hit by a fast-moving storm system that took down trees and damaged homes. The National Weather Service confirmed that a microburst hit parts of Rockland County on Thursday afternoon. A microburst is a thunderstorm that releases a large amount of energy all at once and comes down to the surface as straight-line damaging winds. Thursday’s storm cell produced winds of up to 60 mph as it traveled in a northeasterly direction.
A large tree was completely uprooted and landed on top of an empty gazebo in River Front Park in Stony Point. Other parts of the town like West Haverstraw, Harvestraw, and Stoney Point were not nearly as lucky.
People were devastated. Standing on the streets, crying at what has happened to their homes in what was a matter of 10 minutes. Trees with roots at least 10 feet tall were uprooted as the storm plowed through the county.
On Benson Street in West Haverstraw, a large tree fell onto a house. The tree fell into the neighbor’s kitchen, actually in the kitchen. The whole roof is opened up
Neighbors states that there were gusts of wind coming at you, hailing thunder very loudly.
The storm ripped through the area. The system weakened as it tracked toward Westchester County and the Connecticut border.
A flash flood watch was in effect for Warren, Morris, Hunterdon, Passaic and Bergen counties in New Jersey, Rockland and Westchester counties in New York and Fairfield County in Connecticut until Friday evening.
Rebuilding your home after a storm like this can be very difficult and time consuming. It’s hard enough to believe that it’s happened to you. It’s important that homeowner’s review their insurance policies at a time like this. Make sure they have someone on their side defending them against the insurance companies.
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