A tornado in southwestern Ohio arrived Wednesday with little warning, displacing hundreds of families and leaving thousands without power.
The tornado tore through downtown Goshen Township at 2:30 p.m., according to CNN. Local police and fire departments, as well as schools and homes, were left heavily damaged. Residents of the suburb, which lies 30 miles from Cincinnati, had mere seconds to prepare.
“Our phones alerted, and the storm hit us about 90 seconds later,” said Steve Pegram, the township administrator.
Mike Boehmer, a spokesman for the emergency management office, said two elementary schools, one middle school and a high school were also damaged. He noted they were dangerously close to the tornado’s path, and that the time of its arrival likely saved untold lives.
“They are all in close proximity to the fire department and the police department,” said Boehmer. “We are lucky that it happened in the middle of the day. Most people were still at work when it happened and not in those homes.”
Based on the damage, the National Weather Service stated the tornado reached an EF2 rating on the Enhanced Fujita scale, according to AccuWeather. Winds of that nature can reach devastating speeds between 111 and 135 mph.
The tornado arrived during a barrage of storms from the Midwest and left nearly 100,000 residents in the Cincinnati area without power. Officials declared a state of emergency after several people were injured and countless buildings were left missing their roofs.
Goshen officials said Wednesday evening that one resident was struck by debris and that a firefighter injured his hand while operating a chainsaw.
According to WLWT5, first responders in Miami Township, a Montgomery County suburb, reported a third injury from flying debris later that night.
“Numerous residences were impacted, and we believe that several hundred people have been displaced from their homes,” said Pam Haverkos, the Clermont County emergency management director.
Many Miami Township residents were left scrambling for safety after the local tornado shelter was damaged. Images on social media depicted grocery stores, driving schools and an Allstate insurance building in shambles. Drivers on Highway 28 remained in their cars, waiting for first responders.
Pegram said up to 200 homes were damaged, which resulted in numerous gas leak reports across counties. More than 15,000 residents of Clermont County alone are still without power as of noon Thursday, according to Power Outage.
“Probably the biggest message to residents and people in our area right now... Stay away,” Pegram told Local 12. “We don’t need a lot of cars, we don’t need a lot of people and we don’t need help, we have plenty of resources on scene handling all of our fire and EMS needs, handling our search and rescue needs.”