The American Cancer Society Rome Relay for Life is held each year at the NYS School for the Deaf on Turin Road in Rome. We thought this years relay was going to close uneventfully. As we were tearing down campsites we noticed a bad cloud approaching and someone yelled for us to get out of there. Within seconds we were hit by winds similar to a micro burst. Tents, personal property, signs and debris began to swirl and get caught in the wind. Items as large as tent poles were flying projectiles. Tents collapsed on people or were damaged beyond recognition. It only lasted for a minute or so but happened so fast people couldn't get out of harms way. The photos show some of the damage we encountered. The mangled tent poles belong to commercial rentals rated for 50mph winds. Some people never found their tents. Fortunately we only had 2 minor injuries. Had this happened yesterday or during the night we would have had a mass casualty incident as again this year hundreds of people attended the event.
Rome Relay Storm Damage 6-6-10
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Rome Relay for Life Storm Damage
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