Dayton, Ohio, an hour west of Columbus, saw death and destruction early this week as tornados touched down in the city and surrounding area, leaving 1 dead and 90 injured.
Monday evening through Tuesday night Dayton and the surrounding towns were under a tornado emergency as winds reached upwards of 140 mph, a classification of an EF3 tornado. An EF3 tornado has winds of between 136 to 165 mph, a devasting speed. Roof’s were ripped off of buildings, cars were thrown around like toys, entire homes were pulled apart. Some less stable structures were moved right of their foundation, and trees were ripped from the ground.
About 60 miles north of Dayton in Celina, Ohio, 81-year-old Melvin Dale Hannah was killed after a car carried by these winds crashed through his home. There are seven other injuries in Celina alone, and at least 40 homes in the small town have been damaged or outright destroyed.
Up to nine tornados are reported to have touched down in Ohio alone. At least two tornados are suspected to have crossed passed with each other during the storm, causing enough debris to be kicked up that it was picked up on radar. Monday the 27thmarks the 11thstraight day that at least 8 tornados have been seen in the US, an unusually high number.
The tornados in Ohio were part of a large ‘swarm’ of tornado activity, as upwards of 50 tornados were reported to be touching down across eight states. While this in and of itself is not incredibly unusual, this year has seen a higher percent of tornados already. Officials say that more of the same can be expected in the coming days.
Much of the Dayton and surrounding areas are without power from the damage, and residents are being asked to conserve water usage as power is out at the city’s pumping station. All water should be boiled until power is restored and filtration systems can be brought back online.
Many schools have closed due to damage and a lack of power, with some not planning to reopen for the rest of the year, instead dismissing classes early.
Early warning systems are attributed to the low death and injury count in Ohio. Had tornado warnings not gone off when they had, it is possible many more could have been injured or killed.
