Gov. Baker to seek disaster declaration for Cape Cod tornado

HARWICH, Mass. — Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker says he will seek a federal disaster declaration to support cleanup and recovery efforts on Cape Cod after a tornado and high winds caused extensive damage and knocked out power to tens of thousands.

In a brief news conference on Wednesday afternoon, the governor said his team still has not been able to assess all the damage.

The Republican on Wednesday toured the area affected by Tuesday's storms that ripped the roof off a hotel and downed trees and power lines. Baker says it will take several days to collect information required that would trigger federal aid.

He spoke at the police and fire headquarters in Harwich, one of the Cape communities hardest hit.

Across the Cape, the big concern is downed trees and powerlines.

Crews are out in the area looking for damage and anyone who may have been injured in the storm.

"At this point in time, people do not believe that anybody is dealing with any major injuries," Gov. Baker said. "But there are areas where people still haven’t gotten to. So until those areas have been cleared and people have access to get to them, I hesitate to get beyond saying, from what we know so far, it doesn’t appear there is a significant injury."

It's been a long time since the Cape has seen this kind of storm damage. Some say Hurricane Bob, back in 1991, was the last time this area has been hit like this.

Utility Eversource was reporting about 24,000 customers without power on Cape Cod as of Wednesday afternoon. The company said the majority of customers without power will have it back by the end of the day on Friday.

The National Weather Service says an EF1 tornado with wind speeds of up to 110 mph (177 kph) touched down in Yarmouth and Harwich.

Associated Press