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EF1 Tornado Touches Down in Susquehanna County

BRIDGEWATER TOWNSHIP — Thursday’s massive storms brought down trees and power lines, and damaged buildings and vehicles. As of this afternoon, more ...

BRIDGEWATER TOWNSHIP -- Thursday's massive storms brought down trees and power lines, and damaged buildings and vehicles. As of this afternoon, more than 20,000 homes and businesses were still without power, and the National Weather Services confirmed a tornado touched down in Susquehanna County.

Without power at her home in Bridgewater Township near Montrose, Susan Sparrock relies on a generator to shower and keep her food fresh. However, she said it's the downed power lines resting near her house that really have her concerned.

"I didn't know if those wires were live. And I was concerned about this pole pulling the wires down off my house and if a spark comes, my house is old. It was built in the 1890s. It will go up," said Sparrock.

The National Weather Service confirms an EF1 tornado came through Bridgewater and Dimock Townships, with winds as high as 90 miles an hour.

Neighbors along Route 547 in nearby Harford Township also felt the blow of the storm. 

Kevyn O'Malley said it'll take weeks, if not months, to clean up trees in his front yard and build a new porch.

"My neighbor across the street called me and said your porch is down. I'm like oh great. But he's like you can't make it home. All the roads are closed. So I just worked all night," said O'Malley, of Harford Township.

Neighbors in Harford are already hard at work cleaning up this mess, but the electric companies told them they probably won't have power for another two or three days because there are so many lines down.

Penelec said thousands of homes and businesses in Susquehanna County are still without power. Cleanup crews are working around the clock, but no one was hurt. Sparrock said she's happy the storm has passed.

"Well I'm a big chicken. I'm the wrong person to ask. I was nervous during the storm especially because it was all on TV. Everybody had fair warning," said Sparrock.

The Red Cross is providing food, shelter, and health services at the Harford Volunteer Fire Department for as long as people in Susquehanna County need it.

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