Cleanup continues again today after Monday’s massive tornado outbreak across Indiana and Ohio. The storms killed at least one person and injured dozens more across the Miami Valley. Gov. Mike DeWine has declared a state of emergency for three counties: Montgomery, Greene and Mercer.
Celina, in Mercer County, was particularly hard hit. Jakob Wenning lives there. He says he saw the roof of his apartment lift during the tornado.
“As soon as I went to look into the bathroom, the window blew out,” he says. “Glass rained everywhere. This big chunk of wood come through our window [glass breaks]. I’m really happy we didn’t go in here. And about the time we went to go into this closet, this whole ceiling sucked up, and we could see daylight, and then it came back down.”
Erik Rutledge grew up in Celina, and traveled back to his childhood home, where his mother still lives, to help with recovery efforts. The house was virtually leveled by the storm.
“And then coming up to the street and seeing that’s it not here anymore, it’s kind of hard to take in. And then looking around and seeing all the other neighbors that you grew up with, and their houses are destroyed as well. So, it’s just… Unreal, to say the least,” says Rutledge.
In Beavercreek, a section of North Fairfield Road between Kemp and the Mall at Fairfield Commons continues to be closed to traffic as crews clear the street of trees, downed wires and traffic signals. Businesses along North Fairfield sustained significant damage as well.
Beavercreek Fire Marshall Randy Grogan describes the areas most affected, “The path of the tornado was pretty much a distinct area in the northern part, north of Kemp Road, so the damage is pretty much confined to that area.”
Residential neighborhoods were also hit by the storm as whole trees and roofing material were brought down by the high winds. Mary Kaye drove to Beavercreek to check on her brother and describes what she saw.
"There’s trees, there’s houses, it’s like toothpicks everywhere. He’s safe, he’s ok. The barn’s gone. The fence is all down. We had three trees in the front yard and four or five in the backyard. They’re all gone but the house is still standing and its still there.”
Trotwood also sustained significant damage. Emergency workers are urging residents to stay out of tornado-damaged areas as recovery efforts continue.
Nearly 400 out of state crews are working with Dayton Power and Light to restore electrical service in the Miami Valley. More than 30,000 DPL customers are still without power today.
Power outages have halted water service in much of Montgomery County. Dayton officials say results are expected soon from Ohio Environmental Protection Agency drinking water quality tests. A boil advisory remains in effect until further notice.
Wastewater is being temporarily redirected into the Stillwater River due to the loss of power.
At a press conference Tuesday, Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley says residents in affected areas can pick up free bottled water and other assistance from multiple locations around the city.
“Making sure that people have adequate water and shelter is key there water distribution sites located throughout the region including several in the most impacted areas in Dayton.”
The city has launched a special website to distribute information related to the city’s tornado-recovery efforts. Anyone looking to help is asked to donate bottled water, money and food. For more information visit dayton-ohio.gov/tornado-response
Dayton Fire Chief Jeffrey Payne says search and rescue efforts are completed. Considering the magnitude of the tornadoes in Dayton and the subsequent damage to dozens of homes and business across the city, Payne says he’s thankful more people weren’t hurt or killed.
“But let’s have a good takeaway: there were no fatalities, and we had four minor injuries resulting from a collapse, three minor injuries resulting from flying debris and then four illnesses as a result of the tornadoes”
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