ROME, N.Y. (NCC News) – A storm from the weekend has left parts of the Rome community scrambling for help. Fallen trees, damaged property and widespread power outages are affecting many residents as the region deals with extreme heat.
One of those impacted is longtime Rome resident Pat Lyman. In the middle of the night this weekend, a massive tree fell on his home, damaging his garage and totaling his new car.
“The storm woke me up. A lot of heavy wind noise,” Lyman recalled. “We’ve never had such strong winds from the north like that.”
Around the city, there were similar scenes of downed branches and debris. Despite also needing clean-up efforts, the Rome Family YMCA of the Greater Tri-Valley has turned into a community safe haven.
With the scorching heat, the community hub quickly transformed into a vital cooling center.
Samantha Petschauer, executive director of the Rome Family YMCA, says the community is facing a new kind of challenge.
“We’re in unprecedented times right now with this current heat wave,” Petschauer said. “People are not prepared for this rapid increase in temperature.”
In response, the YMCA opened cooling stations throughout their building and added more fans. They are also offering showers, a dip in the pool or just a cool place to chill out. For those like Rob Vacca who don’t have electricity, the YMCA has been a much-needed refuge.
“I have no power right now, and it’s tough. I come here; I forget about it,” Vacca said. “I’m laughing with people, talking to the staff. I forgot about it.”
“We are here for the community. That’s our number one goal,” said Petschauer.
The YMCA is open from 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekends. Other cooling centers in Rome include the Jervis Public Library and the South Rome Senior Center.
For information about cooling centers across New York, visit health.ny.gov.
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: Rome residents clean up after storm amid hot weather Autumn Ryan: We have team coverage of the tornado cleanup tonight with crews in both Rome and in the heart of where the tornado touched down in Oneida County. The Rome community is looking to clean up their city in the wake of damages from recent storms.
Louie Genovese: Our own Zach Card is live at the Rome Family YMCA with more.
Zach Card: Hey, that’s right guys, the community is still cleaning up from this weekend’s storms. You can see some of the branches left around on the ground behind me waiting to be picked up. But as people continue to clean up in this scorching heat, they’ll also be looking for ways to cool down. Rome citizen and homeowner Pat Lyman watches as crews cut down a tree that fell on his home in the middle of the night. Two nights ago, the storm woke me up. Yes, there was a lot of heavy wind noise, Lyman said. He doesn’t remember the last time they got wind that hard. The tree fell, smashed the garage and completely totaled his new car.
Pat Lyman: The storm woke me up, yes. A lot of heavy wind noise.
Card: Cleanup is a common scene around Rome neighborhoods this morning. Tree branches litter the roads, and Rome YMCA is not immune to the mess despite the downed trees. It’s also serving as a cooling station in this extreme heat. Samantha Pet Shower is the branch’s executive director and says she hasn’t seen anything like this before. Samantha Petschauer: We’re an unprecedented times right now with this current heat wave. People are not prepared for this rapid increase in temperature. That’s why the YMCA has set up cooling stations and hooked up more fans around the building. Rob Vacca is a regular at the Y and is thankful for it in these troubling times.
Rob Vacca: I have no power right now and it’s tough. And you know, I come here. I forgot about it. I’m laughing with the people talking to staff.
Card: The YMCA has water, snacks and showers to those in need.
Petschauer: We are here for the community. That’s our number one goal.
Card: Petschauer says anyone with a valid I.D. can come and use the facility. Petschauer also said that any kid over the age of 12 that’s a member can come in without adult supervision. Now, if they are not a member or under 12, it just comes in with an adult, and it’s an easy process to sign up to be a member. Now, Petschauer also wanted to remind me that the YMCA is at the whim of electricity at those tornadoes that came in about a year ago now, they lost power.
