Tornado Outbreak
Devastates Ohio Communities With Winds Up To 140 MPH
Updated at 12:41 p.m. ET
Several tornadoes touched down in highly populated areas of Dayton and other Ohio communities late Monday night, causing catastrophic damage. The storms devastated dozens of buildings and trees. One death has been reported, officials said Tuesday morning.
The National Weather Service says that "at least an EF3 tornado with winds up to 140 mph" struck the city of Beavercreek in Greene County, Ohio. It says similar winds hit Trotwood in Montgomery County — and that it's too early to know whether the same tornado passed through those counties. On the tornado strength scale, an EF3 is designated as "severe."
As it announced those designations, the NWS office in Wilmington said it's still analyzing the storm's effects in other areas.
The lone reported death occurred in Celina in Mercer County, where Melvin Dale Hanna, 81, was killed during the storm "as the direct result of a vehicle entering his house," Celina Mayor Jeffrey Hazel announced Tuesday.
"Frankly, back in the neighborhood, there's areas that looked really like a war zone," Hazel said after visiting one devastated area. "So it's a tough one in there."
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine toured the damage Tuesday, calling the damage "devastating" on Twitter and adding that dozens of homes have been destroyed.
Given the terrible destruction and havoc that the storm system unleashed, officials in Dayton said they felt fortunate no deaths were reported there.
"Last night about 11:30, tornadoes struck the Dayton area," Dayton Fire Chief Jeffrey Payne said. "However, we have yet to find one fatality, and we have had three minor injuries. I find that pretty miraculous."
Officials in Dayton, Celina and nearby communities are still searching for potential victims after intense storms wreaked havoc. Suspected tornadoes also left behind destruction in the Indiana town of Pendleton, about 100 miles west of Dayton.
Dayton is currently under a boil-water advisory.
"The first tornado warning went out one minute before 9 p.m. in Wayne County, West of Richmond. The last warning was issued a few minutes before 2 a.m. in Hocking County," member station WYSO reports. "In all, officials issued 36 tornado warnings, one flash flood warning, and recorded multiple instances of golf ball-sized hail in the Dayton area Monday night."
In addition to Dayton and Celina, extensive damage has been reported in New Madison, Laura and Laurelville in Ohio, the National Weather Service says. The agency adds that due to "the magnitude and expanse" of the devastation, it will take several days for its crews to conduct damage surveys.
Celina officials said Tuesday that a tornado rampaged through the town's northwest section, leaving "significant damages and injuries."
The list of injured people in Dayton includes some who had to be pulled out of severely damaged buildings, Payne said. He credited the early warning system that informed the public of an impending dangerous tornado system — and he praised residents for following instructions to seek shelter.
Images from the scene show residential neighborhoods that have seemingly been turned into disaster areas. Officials say they're still tallying the number of damaged buildings.
"The sun just came up," Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley said at a news conference Tuesday.
The area suffered a "tornado outbreak," the NWS says, posting a map showing more than a dozen places where tornadoes may have struck, from the Ohio-Indiana border to several spots east of Columbus. In at least one spot northwest of Dayton, two circulation systems capable of generating tornadoes crossed each other's paths.
"Tornadoes did not necessarily occur in every indicated area, but multiple tornadoes have occurred," the weather service says.
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