Severe storms struck Ohio over the weekend with powerful, damaging winds that one utility compared to the remnants of Hurricane Ike in 2008, prompting Gov. John Kasich to declare a state of emergency and call out the National Guard.
Kasich announced late on June 30 that President Barack Obama declared a federal emergency in the state. That comes on top of his own state emergency declaration after Friday’s storms. The White House said a Federal Emergency Management Agency official was being deployed to Columbus.
“We consider this to be an extremely serious situation in Ohio,” Kasich said, telling reporters that the president indicated willingness to provide needed help, and that the head of FEMA called Kasich soon after their discussion.
Tamara McBride of the Ohio Emergency Management Agency said about 950,000 were without power Saturday evening. American Electric Power reported 500,000 of its customers across Ohio, including much of Columbus and into West Virginia, were without power late Saturday.
Kasich said widespread outages across two-thirds of the state and damage means that power restoration could take up to a week amid severe heat, with high-90s temperatures blanketing much of state Saturday. He said continued heat could mean “crisis situations” for children, the elderly and people with medical conditions.
Kasich said he hopes for federal help in getting ice, water, fuel and generators. He said National Guard troops will be helping the elderly and others most in need, beginning in Cincinnati and central Ohio urban areas Sunday and expanding as needed.
One utility said the storm that hit Friday was the worst Ohio has seen since the remnants of Hurricane Ike in 2008 did more than $1 billion in damage. One woman was killed Friday in eastern Ohio, and there were reports of other injuries and damage across the state.
The mayor in the hard-hit capital of Columbus ordered air-conditioned “cooling centers” opened, and people were scrambling to find generators and ice for relief from the heat and to preserve food that some had just stocked up on for Fourth of July holiday celebrations.
Kasich earlier declared a state emergency, authorizing state agencies to do whatever’s necessary to help local authorities around the state. Kasich is the Republican leader of a swing state that figures to be pivotal in the November presidential election. Obama had been scheduled to make a campaign visit to Ohio later in the week.
State emergency workers, the American Red Cross and volunteers were monitoring needs and recovery efforts. Utility workers from Louisiana and Oklahoma were dispatched to help Ohio recovery efforts, state officials said.
American Electric Power reported 500,000 of its customers across Ohio, including much of Columbus, and into West Virginia were without power Saturday morning. AEP said damaged poles and distribution circuits will slow restoration for days. It said damaging winds rivaled those of Hurricane Ike’s remnants in 2008, topping 75 mph, and Friday’s was the “worst storm” since Ike.
That storm is considered the state’s costliest natural disaster. Some 2.6 million Ohio customers lost power during the Sept. 14, 2008, winds, and some still were without power a week afterward.
Kasich noted Saturday that storm was followed by cooler temperatures, while forecasts in Ohio show no immediate relief.
“Together, we’ll get through this,” Kasich said, urging Ohioans to check on neighbors and “look out for those who they know might need some extra help.”
State emergency officials were still assessing damages and injury reports Saturday.
One death had been confirmed so far. Muskingum County sheriff’s deputies say a woman was killed Friday night inside a barn hit by high winds.
The Zanesville Time-Recorder reported that the 70-year-old woman and her husband had gone to the barn to check on their animals, and that the barn collapsed when hit by the storm. The woman’s name wasn’t immediately released, and no other information was available on her husband’s condition, other than he was injured.
The storms hit much of the state during Friday evening rush hour, caused multiple accidents and left several motorists trapped in their vehicles by downed power lines. Winds blew toppled three tractor-trailers off Interstate 75 near Findlay, in northwest Ohio, but no injuries were reported.
In Columbus, Mayor Michael Coleman said two air-conditioned recreation centers would be open Saturday and Sunday afternoons for residents to cool off. He also warned people to stay away from downed power lines and to treat inoperative traffic lights as four-way stops.
Ohio University opened up its facilities to the public and The Athens Messenger newspaper in southeast Ohio invited people to come to its offices to enjoy its air conditioning Saturday.
In the Columbus suburb of Dublin, Lori Schaffert said her household borrowed a generator from “a very dear friend,” and was alternating it between refrigerator and freezer while using flashlights and battery-operated lanterns for light. Her 5-year-old daughter and a neighbor friend played board games and helped her make pickles from their garden’s cucumbers.
“You come to appreciate the simple life a little more in these times,” Schaffert said.
Kasey Beckham, of the Ohio River city of Ashland, Ky., had gone grocery shopping Friday night and loaded her deep freeze and refrigerator with meat for her family of four. She used what ice she had to preserve it for as long as possible, but was inviting friends and neighbors to come feast on hamburger patties, pork tenderloins and more.
“We’re going to have a big cookout!” she said.
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