Tornadoes leave horrific trail of destruction and death across Midwest
Severe storms and tornadoes have left a massive trail of destruction resembling a “war zone” across Ohio and Indiana, with at least one person dead and dozens injured, authorities said Tuesday.
Two powerful tornadoes packing winds of up to 140 mph were confirmed to have touched down in the Ohio cities of Beavercreek and Trotwood on Monday night, according to the National Weather Service.
Several smaller tornadoes hit other areas in Ohio, where at least 60 people were injured as a result of the extreme weather conditions.
The twisters were among an estimated 53 tornadoes that struck across eight states Monday into Tuesday, stretching eastward from Idaho and Colorado.
Some of the most disastrous damage was reported just outside of Dayton, Ohio, where trees were toppled and roofs of homes were torn off.
In the 10,000-person city of Celina, about 70 miles north of Dayton, 81-year-old Melvin Dale Hannah was killed when winds blew a parked car into his house as he slept, according to Mayor Jeffrey Hazel.
“There’s areas that truly look like a war zone,” Hazel said, who noted that homes were torn off their foundations.
According to Celina Fire Chief Douglas Wolters, up to 90 homes were damaged by tornadoes that ripped through the region.
Of those homes, an estimated 40 suffered significant damage, Wolters said.
One of the twisters tore through Michael Sussman’s home in Brookville, which is northwest of Dayton.
“I was hit by debris in my head,” Sussman told CNN. “I looked up and I no longer had a roof.”
The man, his daughter and her boyfriend hid in the bathtub and then tried to move out of the way of swinging electrical wires and debris as they fled the damaged home.
“We went out in the streets and children were screaming and crying. Devastation everywhere,” he said.
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When the storm rolled in Monday night, Francis Dutmers of Vandalia, about 10 miles outside of Dayton, heard a “very loud roar” and headed to the basement with his wife.
“I just got down on all fours and covered my head with my hands,” Dutmers said.
Trotwood resident Erica Bohannon survived the severe-strength tornado that struck her Montgomery County city by hiding out in a closet with her son as roaring winds peeled her apartment building’s roof off.
“If I didn’t move quick enough, what could have happened?” said Bohannon, who emerged Tuesday morning to find herself staring up at the sky where the roof would have been.
Trotwood Mayor Mary McDonald said the city of roughly 24,500 people underwent “catastrophic damage,” though no deaths or serious injuries were reported in the area.
“We’re blessed for that,” McDonald said.
Earlier Tuesday, more than 70,000 power outages were reported across Ohio, affecting more than 5 million people.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Storm Prediction Center showed that 14 suspected tornadoes touched down in Indiana, 11 in Colorado and nine in Ohio.
Six apparent tornadoes were reported in Iowa, five in Nebraska, four in Illinois, three in Minnesota and one in Idaho.
At least 75 homes were damaged after a reported two tornadoes struck Monday evening in the Indiana town of Pendleton, about 35 miles northeast of Indianapolis.
“We do not know at this time if this was a tornado, straight-line winds or what the cause was,” Madison County Emergency Management spokesman Todd Harmeson said Tuesday.
Meanwhile, severe weather and tornado threats continued across Ohio on Tuesday and were set to move eastward into Pennsylvania, southern New York, Maryland and New Jersey, forecasts show.
“Anybody is fair game for a strong or severe thunderstorm during the first part of Tuesday night,” AccuWeather senior meteorologist Tom Kines told The Post on Tuesday, adding that “the primary threat is heavy rain.”
With Post wires
Hayden Snider, 8, finds a way to entertain himself as his family cleans up the debris of his grandparents’ home in the Wheatland Acres subdivision in Celina, Ohio.
AP
Erica Bohannon leads reporters through her destroyed apartment in Trotwood, Ohio.
AP
Residents of the Trotwood neighborhood West Brook inspect the damage to their homes.
Getty Images
Damaged homes and debris mark the path of a tornado in Celina, Ohio on Monday.
AP
A car is seen under a collapsed beam of the garage in Trotwood, Ohio.
Reuters
Deletha Shepard takes a photo of her house in the morning after in Trotwood , Ohio.
Reuters
Residents sort through apartments open up to the air in Trotwood, Ohio.
AP
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