TROTWOOD, Ohio –Â A series of storms tore through Ohio Memorial Day evening, spawning multiple tornadoes and leaving at least one person dead.
The death occurred in Celina, north of Dayton, when a car was thrown into 81-year-old Melvin Dale Hannah’s home, killing him while he slept. Â The EF3 that hit Celina destroyed or severely damaged at least 40 homes. Â An EF3 has winds in excess of 135 mph.
Seventy-five miles south one of Ohio’s largest cities, Dayton, was struck with at least two EF3 tornadoes in Trotwood and Beavercreek. Â The twin twisters occurred just 30 minutes apart. Â Both mayors declared a state of emergency in their suburbs. Â Widespread power outages will take days to repair, according to Dayton Power & Light, and Montgomery County citizens are being asked to conserve water since one of their main treatment plants has lost electricity.
Businesses and homes were hit hard. Â One bystander seen surveying the debris declared he would not be working for awhile since the building where he was employed had no power and was significantly damaged. Â His co-worker’s situation was worse; he’s out of work until the building is repaired and lost his home in nearby Brookville. Â That same twister removed the school’s roof and destroyed many other homes.
One building stood windowless, next to which lay the crumpled up wreckage of semi-truck, twisted and tossed by the tornado like a Tonka toy. Â Up the street workers were already assessing the carnage at MSW on Ventnor. Â They confirmed no injuries but significant property damage.
Nearby Pickaway County saw two tornadoes as well. Â One hit near Circleville and another in Laurelville, the southeast corner of the county. Â The ferocity of the storms tossed tractor-trailers around at Love’s Truck Stop, just south of ‘Round Town’.
Governor Mike DeWine has declared a state of emergency in three counties, Montgomery, Mercer and Greene. Â As a result, those counties will receive state aid above and beyond the normal limits.
President Trump tweeted his support for Ohio today:
Storms overnight across Ohio and many other States were very dangerous and damaging. My team continues to update me with reports from emergency managers in the States affected. Listen to your local officials and be resilient. We are with you!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 28, 2019
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Beth Lear is a reporter at the Ohio Star. Â Follow Beth on Twitter. Â Email tips to [email protected].
