Tornadoes cause much destruction and kill 4 in central Massachusetts

Multiple tornadoes slammed western and central Massachusetts, destroying buildings, flipping vehicles and leaving four people dead and dozens injured.

At least three tornadoes struck the city of Springfield, Mass., alone, with a fourth unconfirmed twister possibly touching down in the city, Mayor Dominic J. Sarno said. Many of those storms also blasted the areas surrounding the city of more than 150,000 residents 90 miles west of Boston, according to ABC News.

Gov. Deval Patrick declared a state of emergency and mobilized 1,000 National Guard troops.

"It is early going yet, so those are not final numbers, although we are hoping and praying and working as hard as possible to keep the fatalities limited to those four," he said. An estimated 55,000 homes were without power, reports Los Angeles Times.

Since 1950, Massachusetts has had about two tornadoes per year, and there had been none since 2008, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said, informs Detroit Free Press.