Infrastructure Damage From Tornado To Cost Millions In Buffalo

If someone had told you that New York State would record a record number of tornados and one would blow right off Lake Erie into the City of Buffalo, you would have likely told them they were making up stories. Never in 1 million years could the average Western New Yorker even imagine that we'd have a tornado blow down Niagara Street in Downtown Buffalo.

That tornado, which touched down on Monday, August 5, 2024, caught many people by surprise, and it left a swatch of damage from downtown into the Lower Westside.

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This EF1 tornado is the first one to make landfall in Buffalo's city limits in more than 70 years, as the last time this happened was in 1950. As Buffalonians begin to pick up the pieces and clear up the debris, the true toll of damage is starting to become clearer.

More than 50 trees were damaged, multiple cars were flipped upside down, and several chimneys were torn off of houses. If that wasn't enough, quite a few homes and other structures lost their roofs, as many were ripped off the buildings.

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Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown held a press conference with Common Council Member Mitch Nowakowski, who lives in the neighborhood impacted. At the conference, officials detailed some of the damage and the estimated financial cost the tornado caused.

Today, Mayor Brown estimates the damage toll at $2.5 million. However, that figure is expected to increase as more damage recovery and mitigation occur.

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City officials also noted they are communicating with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to determine if Buffalo is eligible for governmental disaster recovery funds.