WESTBORO, MASS. (WHDH) - Howling winds are wreaking havoc across the Bay State, toppling trees in many communities and sending scaffolding crashing to the ground in Boston.
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Strong wind gusts knocked a tree onto a home in Westboro, causing significant damage to an attached garage and the roof of the house.
“We heard a big crash and then sort of the house shook and that’s when I knew that something hit the house,” homeowner Julie Basque said. “I just have to say, God took care of us and we’re OK and we’ll get through this.”
Another part of the tree crashed to the ground, narrowly missing a neighboring home.
There were no reported injuries.
“God took care of us and we’re OK. We’ll get through this,” Basque added.
The wind also took down trees in Haverhill, where a large tree landed on Devon Cunningham’s home.
“The tree landed on the house and it came, two of the limbs came through the roof and showed inside the house, so you could see the limbs inside the house,” he said.
He says his son Phillip was in the bathroom moments before the tree hit and cracked the wall.
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“It was shocking,” Phillip Cunningham recalled. “I walked out the bathroom and the next thing I know I hear a boom and I walked in the bathroom and there’s a big dent in the wall. It was pretty shocking.”
The Cunninghams say they are grateful no one was hurt.
“The house can be replaced. The cars can be replaced, but you can’t replace someone’s life,” Devon Cunningham said.
Boston Fire Deputy Fire Chief Pat Nichols says the wind also caused a scaffolding collapse at a construction site on St. Alphonosus Street around 11 p.m.
“Approximately 200 to 250 foot by 7 stories tall scaffolding that was dislodged because of the wind,” he explained. “There was a significant amount of debris in the street.”
Firefighters say this type of damage is always on their radar when the winds pick up.
Nichols added that there was no one around the construction site when the scaffolding fell.
“Because it was night and it was cold, people weren’t anywhere near it so when it fell there was nobody involved with it,” he said. “It’s very fortunate that nobody was hurt. It could have been a lot worse if there was anybody around.”
The winds have also led to tens of thousands of power outages throughout Massachusetts.
For the latest forecast updates, visit the 7Weather page.
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