Tornado leaves destruction in Gloucester County

Gloucester Catholic’s Will Toth had just returned from football practice late Wednesday afternoon when the skies darkened.

“Not even five minutes later, we were hearing it – my ears were popping, and then everything went crazy,” said Toth, 16, a junior who is in varsity football and swimming at Gloucester Catholic Junior Senior High School.

On Thursday morning, Toth stood outside his home in Wenonah, looking around at the uprooted trees scattered across his yard. One rested on the roof, having breached his bedroom.

“I’m just glad no one got hurt,” he said. “We can get this [the tree] out of the house, the roof fixed – people aren’t replaceable. That’s all that matters,” he said.

Residents of New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania – including Gloucester County’s hard-hit Wenonah and Mullica Hill – spent the night in darkness after the remnants of Hurricane Ida tore through the state Sept. 1, spurring tornados and leaving death, destruction and flooding in its wake. A state of emergency was declared in New Jersey’s 21 counties.

In the Diocese of Camden, parishioners have sprung into action to help. For example, Marlene Laneader of Incarnation Parish, Mantua, has spearhead a collection in which toiletries, clothing, bedding and more are being dropped off in the parish hall.

“I’m sure right now is a cleanup day for many people and that they are just wrapping their heads around what happened,” Patti Houwen, parish business administrator, said of those affected by the storm. “Hopefully, in the coming days, they will come by if they need anything.”

She said anyone wanting to donate items or gift cards can contact the parish office at 856-468-1314. Nearby parishes including Mary, Mother of Mercy, Glassboro, and Saint Clare of Assisi, Gibbstown, have also contacted the parish, wanting to help with relief efforts.  

The parish, Houwen added, did not sustain any damage, but only a half-mile away, there were downed telephone wires and businesses with no roofs.

Dave Hernandez, Catholic Star Herald staff photographer, described a similar scene in Wenonah.

“I don’t even know what to say. I just came from a house where the roof was ripped off. It’s gone, and all the rain got in the house and soaked everything,” he said.

Hernandez, a former firefighter, said the destruction was unlike anything he had ever encountered.

“We get straight-lined winds all the time, and it’s normal to see fences and things missing,” he said. “But what is out of the ordinary is to see chimneys ripped off of houses.”

He had walked five miles by mid-afternoon, traversing downed trees and debris-lines streets around Wenonah. At one home, the back wall stood four feet away from the rest of the house.

“The roads are blocked, a lot of them impassable. Wires are down, with transformers and poles lying in the streets,” he said. “It’s odd to see trees down not all facing the same direction. They all went their own separate ways. You can go on the same street and see them toppled over opposite each other.”

Staff photographer Dave Hernandez contributed to this report.