AMHERST, N.Y. (WKBW) — Cleanup efforts are underway Thursday after a powerful storm uprooted trees, damaged homes and knocked out power across parts of Amherst Wednesday.
Crews spent the morning cutting through fallen tree trunks and hauling branches from neighborhoods in Getzville.
A large tree fell onto a home on Robin Ridge Road. Neighbor Bob Farley said the couple who lives there was home when the tree came down.
“It was so fast,” Farley said. “There was no fear. It was just boom—there’s a tree down. Like, wow, look at that.”
Farley watched the tree fall from his dining room window across the street.
“It’s shocking, the scope of the damage,” he said. “Big, huge cottonwood tree, probably 40 feet tall. I can’t believe the size, the diameter of the trunk, seeing it up close.”
WATCH: Cleanup underway after powerful storm downs trees in Amherst
The storm generated a surge of emergency calls across Amherst. Getzville Fire Company Public Information Officer David Morales said volunteer firefighters prepared, but calls began pouring in.
“The number of 911 calls that came in, not only to Getzville but to the entire town, was astonishing,” Morales said. “It was an absolute deluge of calls that came in. It was going nonstop the entire time of the storm and the immediate aftermath.”
A command post was established at the Getzville Fire Company’s main station. Volunteer firefighters from companies across Amherst were staged to respond to emergencies.
Morales said the most significant damage appeared to follow a narrow path through the heart of Amherst.
Despite extensive property damage, no injuries were reported.
