Roommates, make sure you check in on your friends, family, and loved ones in and around Dayton, Ohio as the city has been hit by a destructive tornado that has left at least one dead. The tornado ripped through Dayton Monday night, causing damage in surrounding towns like Vandalia, Beavercreek, Pendleton, Indiana.
“We have homes flattened, entire apartment complexes destroyed, businesses throughout our community where walls have collapsed,” Dayton assistant fire chief Nicholas Hosford said. He added, “I don’t know that any community is fully prepared for this type of devastation.”
There was also a gas leak reported, as result of the tornado, in Pendleton, Indiana, which is roughly 100 miles west of Dayton, Oh.
According to reports, three people were injured and one passed away. ABC affiliate WKEF-TV confirms that the person who lost his life was an 81-year-old man. A vehicle was thrown into his home. There were reportedly three people injured, and a number of residents displaced.
“It was the scariest 15 seconds of my life,” Blake Gifford, one of the people who took shelter in a church restroom, told WKEF. He described the scene as being “dead quiet to a jet engine taking off.”
He continued, “I was praying, asking God to keep us safe. We’re lucky, we’re lucky to be here.”
Residents were asked to conserve water following a power outage that affected more than 80,000 people.
Although there were no reports of residents being trapped in their homes, rubble, or buildings, search-and-rescue teams were reportedly going door-to-door in the neighborhoods that were hard-hit.
“I think the reduction in injuries is in key part to the early notification and people taking those warning seriously, moving to safe areas of their homes,” Hosford said.
Dayton wasn’t the only place affected by a tornado during Memorial Day Weekend. Idaho, Iowa, Illinois, Colorado, Nebraska, and Minnesota were also hit. We hear that parts of Ohio and Pennsylvania are at risk of another tornado, so we urge residents to watch weather forecasts closely.
Let’s keep those affected in our thoughts and prayers.
TSR STAFF: Chantel Kelli! @_POPchanny!
Source: https://abcnews.go.com/US/80000-power-deaths-reported-ohio-tornado/story?id=63314869
