Massive Tornado Damage Renders 82 Buildings in Rome Uninhabitable

It's official, roughly 500 structures in Rome need to be repaired or demolished entirely after a tornado ripped through the city last month.

It's been nearly a month since an EF-2 tornado devastated the City of Rome, sparking an intense recovery mission involving local, state, and national officials.

Due to the extensive damage, Governor Kathy Hochul announced the state freed up some $4 million to help Oneida County, including the City of Rome, with demolition work.

While it's heartbreaking to see Rome go through such a terrible event, the Copper City is already in the process of rising from the ashes like a phoenix, whose flames are igniting countless acts of kindness to help those who could use a helping hand.

Read More: Massive Charity Drive Helps Elderly Rome Residents Who Lost Home

It took National Grid over four days to completely restore power to the city, of which the coordinated effort involved crews from across the country and even Canada. While that was underway, multiple first responders went above and beyond to help those who desperately needed help.

However, a lot of work still needs to be done and local leaders completed a new survey to understand just how many structures were actually lost in the storm.

Chief Code Enforcement Officer Mark Domenico told the Daily Sentinel that 82 of the over 400 structures on the tornado's path sustained "significant damage."

The structures are a mix of businesses and homes, and all have been deemed uninhabitable. These structures have since been marked appropriately to warn others not to enter because of the unsafe conditions.

Some of these condemned properties are already in the process of being town down, such as the iconic West Dominick Street building that hosted the Brigadier General Peter Gansevoort mural.

The rest of the destroyed structure was razed on Friday, with crews remaining on scene to completely clear the area.

City officials will work with the rest of the property owners to determine the best course of action for the remaining devastated buildings.

In the meantime, a recovery fund was set up by Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente and Rome Mayor Jeffrey Lanigan to help these impacted business and homeowners recoup some of their money - but the window to apply is closing.

Read More: Time Running Out for Rome Tornado Relief Fund

Applications will stop being accepted after August 23. So far, the fund approved 553 applications that ask for roughly $1.5 million.

Get our free mobile app