COLUMBUS – Thousands in the Dayton area are still without power and water for a third day as heavy equipment cleared storm debris left after the wave of Memorial Day tornadoes.
Updated 5/31/19 9:50 a.m.
Dayton Power & Light said Thursday that more than 22,000 customers were still without electricity. The utility said 750 extra crew members from six states are helping out, doubling the usual number on the job.
Free bottled water is being distributed at stations throughout the area and shelters are open where residents can shower. The city lifted water boil-advisories Thursday.
Many businesses remained closed, including the sprawling Mall at Fairfield Commons in Beavercreek.
At least 20 twisters were confirmed in Ohio Monday night and early Tuesday, including several in the Dayton area that were responsible for the heavy damage.
One person was killed and about 140 injured.
Ohio Attorney General David Yost reminded victims to watch out for scams typical in the wake of severe weather. Unscrupulous contractors descend on storm-ravaged areas offering services to homeowners and taking advance payment but then performing shoddy work or none at all, Yost warned.
To avoid scams, Yost recommends asking for identification from the company’s representative. Note their name, address and phone number and be cautious of any contractor who doesn’t provide the information. Yost says consumers can check for complaints on file with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office and the Better Business Bureau.
He also recommends getting multiple estimates, not making large payments in advance, getting a detailed written contract and consider paying with a credit card. Consumers have three days to cancel a contract, under Ohio’s Home Solicitation Sales Act, Yost said.
Tuesday marked the 12th straight day that at least eight tornadoes were reported to the National Weather Service. The previous record for consecutive days with that many tornadoes was an 11-day stretch in 1980. The weather service website showed at least 27 reports of tornadoes Tuesday, most in Kansas and Missouri but also in Pennsylvania and Illinois.
Three of the twisters were rated by the weather service as EF3 tornadoes, with winds between 130 and 150 mph. Two of them hit Montgomery County and the third struck Celina, in Mercer County. Gov. Mike DeWine declared an emergency in three hard-hit counties, allowing the state to bypass purchasing requirements to speed up delivery of essentials like water and generators.
“We get our share,” DeWine told President Donald Trump on Tuesday, responding to the president’s remark in a personal call that he didn’t think of Ohio when he thought of tornadoes.
“Whatever we have to do, we’ll do,” Trump told the governor. “We’ll take good care of you.”
An EF2 tornado, with winds of approximately 125 mph, carved a path of destruction 400 yards wide and more than five miles long just northeast of Laurelville, in Hocking County. It damaged a home on Wolfe Road and threw a 7,000-pound truck into another home in the area around Union Road and Middle Fork Road.
An EF1 Tornado, with 95 mph winds, damaged buildings along a 5-mile stretch near State Route 56 west of Salt Creek Elementary School south of Tarlton in Pickaway County.
An EF0, with winds of about 75 mph, snapped power poles, knocked down trees and blew off roofs south of Circleville.