[Context, courtesy of Wikipedia: “The 1953 Worcester tornado was an extremely powerful tornado that struck the city and surrounding area of Worcester, Massachusetts on June 9, 1953. It was part of the Flint–Worcester tornado outbreak sequence, which occurred over a three-day period from June 6—9, 1953. The storm stayed on the ground for nearly 90 minutes, traveling 48 miles across Central Massachusetts. In total, 94 people were killed, making it the 21st deadliest tornado in the history of the United States.”]
Lighter moments were few and far between. An unidentified woman hurried into the Red Cross emergency response unit and asked to be allowed back into her home. She wanted to look for her false teeth that the twister had blown out of her mouth.
Karl Walz Jr. was completing his paper route when the twister hit. He had nothing to do but cling to a tree. A friendly neighbor called him into her home just before the tree was uprooted by the wind and swept away. In Worcester a frantic mother called the police looking for her child. She was told that her one-year-old had been found safely wandering along a sidewalk several blocks away.
Source:
Pletcher, Larry. “The Worcester Tornado.” Massachusetts Disasters: True Stories of Tragedy and Survival. Insiders Guide, 2006. 163. Print.
Further Reading:
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