The National Weather Service in Wilmington confirmed Wednesday that the tornado was responsible for the destruction in rural areas west and southwest of the village. It had an estimated wind speed of 90 mph with a path that was 150 yards wide and 4.3 miles long, according to the weather service.
RELATED: New Carlisle man uses 8,000 pounds of sand to keep home from flooding
Residents there woke up Wednesday to downed power lines, uprooted trees and yards flooded with water and debris.
A separate tornado was also confirmed to have touched down Tuesday near Ludlow Road in Greene County with wind speeds around 90 mph. A third tornado happened in Grove City, near Columbus.
One of the hardest hit areas in Clark County was on South River Road between Clifton and South Charleston. Weather service crews couldn’t immediately access the road on Wednesday to survey the damage because of live wires and downed trees on the roadway.
Angie Yoakum has lived in her South River Road home for almost 30 years. A huge pine tree was uprooted by Tuesday’s storm and crashed on top of her family’s roof.
She said she heard the power of the storm.
“We heard the thump against our house and the tree was down. The winds were blowing really hard,” Yoakum said. “Things were blowing and we hunkered down.”
She and her husband, Larry Yoakum, spent Wednesday calling their insurance agent and arranging for tree and debris removal.
Kevin Smith, of Enon, was called by the Yoakums about 8 a.m. Wednesday to help them clean up.
“I haven’t seen anything like this since the Xenia tornado,” he said. Tuesday’s tornado fell on the 44th anniversary of the Xenia tornado that killed 33 people.
No visible damage to the inside of their home was found but they will take precautions to assure water doesn’t drip inside.
WEATHER: Clark County health district warns of contaminated wells after storms
Ryan Barclay’s barn outside of South Charleston collapsed Tuesday. Debris still covered the Cortsville Road property on Wednesday. Clean up was delayed because he said the ground remained too wet.
It’s not the first time a barn on the property collapsed due to severe weather. The former property owner during the 1974 tornado had a large bank barn that was destroyed. Barclay said the story is eerily similar to his own.
“Just like today, (the tornado) missed the house by about 100 feet and took the barns out,” he said. “So these barns replaced the barn that it took out in (1974).”
A second barn on Barclay’s property was left standing after Tuesday’s tornado.
No injuries have been reported in Clark County from the storm.
“You just have to deal with it,” Yoakum said. “Just thankful everybody is OK. Things can be fixed.”
Residents who escaped physical damage to their homes could still see consequences of Tuesday’s flooding.
Well water could be contaminated, especially if the water crested over the top of the well, advised the Clark County Combined Health District.
Water wells that have experienced flooding will need to be disinfected after the flooding has gone down.
After water wells have been disinfected, the health district recommends the water is tested for E. Coli and coliform bacteria to make sure it was effective. Residents may collect samples for testing and submit them to the health district.
An advisory will be mailed to residents who could be susceptible to the contamination.
Flooding also closed several roadways in Clark County. A woman tried to drive through high water on Lower Valley Pike and Old Mill Road in Mad River Twp. The vehicle got stuck, and she and her husband, who had come to help her, had to be rescued by crews with motor boats.
Officials on the scene said to never drive through high water, especially at night when depth can be hard to judge.
This is the same area where two donkeys, Pancho and Eddie, were rescued in February when water rose up to their necks.
In Urbana, severe flooding forced 13 people to seek shelter with the Red Cross after being evacuated from the Settlers Ridge Apartments in the 900 block of Ohio 29.
William Weast, one of the apartment’s residents, said water rose up to the level of his car door.
“It was like a giant swimming pool. It was all up to our waists,” Weast said. “Whenever we would open the door, it would flood right in.”
Weast was able to put his valuable belongings above the water level but he doesn’t have renter’s insurance.
Champaign County emergency management officials are looking into when it will be safe for the residents to return.
The area could see more rain on Thursday and Friday with chances for light snow showers going into the weekend.
Staff Writer Allyson Brown contributed to this report.
In-depth coverage
The Springfield News-Sun digs into important public safety stories, including recent coverage of how winter snowstorms affected road crews and longtime efforts to widen Interstate 70.
About the Author