'Residents were fine': 24 residents relocated within Ellicott Center after tornado rips off part of roof

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Part of the roof of Ellicott Center nursing home was damaged when a tornado came through Buffalo on Monday.

The National Weather Service Buffalo has confirmed an EF-1 tornado with an estimated peak wind of 90 mph touched down.

I spoke with Centers Health Care Corporate Communications Director Jeff Jacomowitz, out of New York City, who said a temporary roof is already up and that the residents and faculty are fine.

"Part of the roof was damaged. Part of it was blown out. Everybody was fine. I wasn't there but it was probably pretty scary for everybody," Jacomowitz explained.

Jacomowitz said that about 24 residents were relocated to another part of the building.

They followed storm protocols once the staff heard what was happening.

"Moving people to different rooms and getting them comfortable with lunch and whatever they had with them, so the residents were fine," Jacomowitz added.

He commended staff members for their swift response to keep residents safe and told me a roofing company is working on getting a permanent roof back on.

Directly on the other side of the street, Jesus Rivera is dealing with his own issue.

His car is buried under several tree branches and it all happened while he was at the dentist.

"I was just doing a cleaning of my teeth when I hear people say a tornado touched down," said Rivera. "I laughed because I didn't believe it in the moment. When I came out, I found there was a bunch of branches everywhere and half of the tree is on top of my car."

Thankfully, he tells me he lives within walking distance from the parking lot and he hoped to have the tree removed from his car soon.