EDEN, N.Y. — The Town of Eden is unrecognizable Wednesday night with entire trees blocking streets, RVs flipped over, and just debris remaining where homes once stood.
The town took a direct hit from the remnants of Hurricane Beryl, as the National Weather Service confirmed an EF-0 tornado touched down in Eden just before 1 p.m. Wednesday, bringing 85 mile per hour winds as it spanned almost a mile.
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said the town of 8,000 was hit the hardest in the county.
John Haier, owner of Haier Trucking, saw mother nature take away almost everything he built in just two minutes.
The tornado struck his business, tossing debris up to three miles away, and leaving just one truck standing.
“It’s like the movies with the funnel thing coming through,” he said.
But he still considers himself lucky.
“Nobody was hurt,” he said. "That's the main thing."
Many in Eden and across the county shared that same feeling Wednesday night. Poloncarz reported that the only injuries came at the expense of barn animals. No humans experienced serious injuries.
“The shirts, the clothes, buildings can be replaced,” Poloncarz said. “You can't replace people.”
Those in Eden are thankful Wednesday night as the power starts to come back on and just 150 remain powerless. National Grid expects their power to be restored by Thursday at noon.
But they’re just hoping this doesn’t happen again.
“I feel more sorry for the people next door that your houses are gone than what this is,” Haier said.