Destructive tornadoes hit Ohio, one fatality reported
A swath of devastation left behind as deadly tornadoes slam Ohio.
Damage surveys continued Tuesday afternoon in the wake of deadly tornadoes that tore through Ohio late Monday night. Three of the tornadoes have been given a preliminary rating of EF-3, including the strom that was responsible for the death of an 81-year-old man in Celina, about an hour north of Dayton near the Indiana state line.
According to Celina, Ohio, Mayor Jeffrey Hazel, the man died "as a direct result of a vehicle entering his house," WDTN reported.
In Dayton, where two suspected tornadoes touched down just 30 minutes apart, a "tornado emergency warning" was issued just after 11 p.m, the highest warning issued the U.S. National Weather Service. Tornado sirens rang through the area overnight as trees were uprooted, power lines knocked down and homes destroyed. Emergency officials were forced to send out snowplows to clear debris from a major highway in the city as both tornadoes reportedly crossed Interstate 75.
"Boom everything started crashing around us... ripped off my garage, my neighbor's garage, several trees," an unidentified witness said, as reported by Reuters.
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Despite the significant damage across the heavily populated city, officials say it appears that no one was killed.
"We have yet to find one fatality and we have had three minor injuries, I find that pretty miraculous," said Dayton Fire Chief, Jeffrey Payne, adding that cews will continue search and rescue operations through neighbourhoods that were "obliterated."
More than 70,000 customers were without power in Ohio early Tuesday and officials say the weather service will be conducting damage surveys for the next few days in the areas of Celina, New Madison, Laura, Dayton and Laurelville.
This latest storm comes after tornadoes and flood waters killed at least six people in Oklahoma over the weekend, including two people in El Reno, near the state capital, on Saturday.
Severe storms sparked again on Tuesday afternoon in northeastern Ohio and across Pennsylvania, where numerous tornado warnings have already been issued.
The NWS says damage surveys in Ohio will continue for at least a few days.
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With files from CNN, Reuters.