Churches among structures damaged by tornado in Rome

Many homes, businesses and monuments in Rome were damaged or destroyed by Tuesday’s tornado. Ancient churches also suffered significant damage, raising concerns among homesick residents.

“These are churches that we grew up in and where we had our First Communion. We went to church every Sunday, we had our confirmations. We had weddings. We had funerals that meant a lot to us. And all of a sudden to have that all wiped out is going to be tough,” said Michael Uvanni, owner of Michael J. Uvanni Interiors.

The Church of St. Mary in Rome is no longer used for worship, but seeing it damaged and in such a state was still a difficult thing for many Romans to accept. The neighboring buildings opened as a wellness center last year. It is now difficult to know what the future holds.

“It’s hard to anticipate right now what we can do because, you know, structurally, we don’t know what the structural damage is of anything right now,” said Della Pray, project manager of the Kabari Wellness Institute.

Cleaning continues throughout the city, inside and out.

“You can see the storm came right into this room, and it took this big painting off this wall and shattered it here. These are some of our most exquisite works,” Uvanni said.

Residents and business owners say it’s overwhelming and not having electricity is painful.

“They just don’t seem to have enough resources here right now to help us,” business owner Rick Pimpinella said.

“We need all the help we can get,” Uvanni said.

“We will not abandon this community,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said at a news conference Tuesday. “We will continue to bring New York state resources now and for as long as it takes.”

Hochul said she was deploying 50 members of the New York Army National Guard to the area to help clean up.