A year ago today, 19 tornadoes touched down in Ohio, destroying homes and businesses in rural and urban areas alike. The largest of those tornados passed through the City of Dayton and several neighboring communities. WYSO鈥檚 Jason Reynolds has been talking with people in some of the hardest-hit communities to see where they are today.
One of the first tornadoes touched down in the tiny city of Celina, about an hour north of Dayton. It was just after 10 p.m. when the wind started ripping roofs off of houses and throwing cars into the air. One of those cars landed on a house, killing the man inside.
After the storm passed, Celina was Governor Mike DeWine鈥檚 first stop. He came by helicopter to see the damage.
鈥淚t鈥檚 devastating when you see it from the air,鈥� DeWine said. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 devastating when you actually go out. Then, when you start talking to people who lost everything, you really start to understand what a tornado can do.鈥�
Now, a year later, Celina Mayor Jeffrey Hazel says his community has bounced back.
鈥淲e have recovered very, very well,鈥� Hazel says. 鈥淚t just looks like all new housing out in that area. Businesses that were damaged, they got back up very, very quickly. I had school kids coming out and cleaning debris, which was amazing to me. So, I feel very proud of this community.鈥�
While some towns like Celina have recovered quickly, other places have struggled. Some of the neighborhoods hit hardest were in Dayton and its suburbs. Those areas are more densely populated, which led to more property damage when the largest of the twisters tore through homes in Trotwood, Northridge, and Dayton.
Cathi Spaugy is the development director for Harrison Township, which took the brunt of that tornado. It was an EF4鈥攁 storm classified by winds of over 160 miles an hour and capable of causing devastating damage.
鈥淲e had roughly 1,800 buildings, both commercial and residential, that suffered some sort of damage. So, of all the jurisdictions that suffered damage from the tornado, we were hardest hit,鈥� Spaugy says.
She estimates Harrison Township is about halfway through their cleanup, much of which has been demolition. 25 buildings were leveled at one apartment complex alone, and hundreds of residents were displaced.
Cleanup costs have been immense, too. It鈥檚 in the $3 to $4 million range, which is more than the township's annual budget. And that budget is going to be smaller this year.
鈥淲e gain our revenue in the township through property tax,鈥� Spaugy says. 鈥淪o, of course, we鈥檝e lost property as a result of the storm, and also people were able to have their property tax evaluated because of the storm.鈥�
But Spaugy still sees silver linings in all of this. Because of the tornado, she says the township is getting to know its residents better. And they鈥檙e also getting to know other government agencies and nonprofit organizations in the area鈥攚hich means they can connect residents with the services they need most.
鈥淲e have folks that need help. Maybe they need food resources or basic social service resources. And now, because of the storm, I know where to send them,鈥� she says.
The tornado that ripped through Harrison Township traveled 20 miles. It jumped the Great Miami River, and then plowed into Dayton itself. Officials say, of the 500 homes it damaged there, roughly 75 still need some sort of roof work. And that鈥檚 not all.
鈥淢ost people in the neighborhood hunkered down in their houses,鈥� says Matt Tepper, President of the Old North Dayton Neighborhood Association. 鈥淪ome of them may be still in houses that shouldn鈥檛 be occupied, but they鈥檙e not leaving. They鈥檙e set on staying there in their homes. And they鈥檙e trying to figure out how to get help.鈥�
There are families in Old North Dayton that can tell you their stories of back-to-back bad luck. First, there was getting hit by the tornado. Now, it鈥檚 being laid off during the pandemic.
Still, Matt Tepper from the neighborhood association says things are getting better.
He says he was just out assessing Bellefontaine Street, a block of post-war houses that was ripped apart by the storm, and he marveled at what his community has accomplished so far.
鈥淚 was standing in the middle of the street, and they had made so much progress on that block. All the new roofs and the siding repairs made them look new,鈥� Tepper says.
There are three homes on that block that Tepper says still look pretty bad and require some serious work. But he says that feels pretty manageable鈥攅specially considering what the street looked like this time last year.
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