DAYTON, Ohio—A senior citizen killed when a parked car was blown into his home. A shopping plaza torn to shreds. The roof peeled off an arena.
Scenes of devastation dotted a swath of Ohio after a series of tornadoes tore through several towns, leaving some without homes and many more without power.
“There’s areas that truly look like a war zone,” Celina Mayor Jeffrey Hazel told the Associated Press.
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Dozens of twisters roared through several states, but Celina, Trotwood, and North Dayton in Ohio appeared to have some of the heaviest damage.
Melvin Dale Hannah, 81, was sleeping at his home in Celina when the tornado touched down, flipping vehicles into the air, the Dayton Daily News reported.
One slammed into the house, killing him, the fire chief said.
Up to 90 others were injured in the severe weather, and rescue crews were going door to door to look for people who were trapped, hurt or worse.
The National Weather Service confirmed the tornado that swept through Trotwood was an EF-3. Winds of up to 140 mph sheared off parts of the iconic Hara Arena, which was vacant.
Trotwood resident Erica Bohannan took shelter in a closet with her son and dog and came out after the storm to find her roof gone.
“If I didn’t move quick enough, what could have happened?” she asked an AP reporter.
On Dixie Road in Dayton, a shopping plaza looked like a bomb had gone off, with walls crumbled on the ground and debris scattered everywhere.
Read it at WHIO-TV
