(NECN: Scot Yount, West Springfield, Mass.) - Repairs, demolition, clean up and utility work are under way. In the section of West Springfield, Massachusetts hit hard by the twister that killed two people, a delegation of State Senators along with the Senate President assess the incredible destruction.
"Your hope is that you are going to be able to bring as much resource back as you possibly can to help the neighborhoods rebuild, and help people rebuild their homes," said State Senator Jim Welch of his district.
Bennu Chhetri lives in the same home where a 39 year old mother lost her life saving her 15 year old daughter. He was in his third floor apartment when the tornado struck.
"You were saying you got down under the dining room table? Yeah, the dining room table and all peoples over there just went like this and I shield my son and and the storm crashed down on the table," said Chhetri, a Bhutan native who spent 20 years living in a refugee camp in Nepal before coming to the U.S. Just three years ago. He has lost everything.
Friends of the 23 year old man who was killed say his family is struggling with their loss.
"The family is like really good. I know them, I go to school with their daughter," said Abbas Tamaja.
Police were patrolling the area, as families ignored condemned building warnings trying to scrape together as many belongings as they can. Kids who live in the neighbor hood tell us they are baffled by the power of the storm. Tornados are something they have only read about in textbooks.
"It is amazing how in 25 seconds you can be in your basement and the rest of the neighborhood can go up," said Kevin Babic of West Springfield.
"Trees got pulled out of the ground. The thing that still shocks me is that this was a category 2, to minor 3. And they are still like up to 5, so this wasn't even that bad," said Mohammad Mosa of West Springfield.
