ARES Mobilized After Possible Tornado Rips Xenia, Ohio
NEWINGTON, CT, Sep 21, 2000--One person was killed and dozens injured when a severe storm ripped through Xenia, Ohio, Wednesday evening around 7:30 PM Eastern. Weather experts are trying to determine if the storm was a tornado. An Amateur Radio Emergency Service net remains in operation, and hams have been assisting the Red Cross and local emergency management officials.
Ohio Gov Bob Taft has declared an emergency for the southwestern Ohio community, which is about 15 miles east of downtown Dayton. The National Weather Service says the severe storm brought heavy rain and straight-line winds of up to 70 MPH, but forecasters say they have been unable to verify that a tornado touched down.
Greene County Emergency Coordinator Fred Stone, W8LLY, says an ARES net has been activated. He reports that the Greene County EOC will continue to operate its primary net on the area's 147.165 MHz repeater. "Red Cross has three shelters set up and is using the 145.11 repeater," he said today. Stone says that client population at the shelters is very low and shelters are being consolidated. The 145.11 repeater also is being used by the damage assessment teams, he said.
AMSAT President Keith Baker, KB1SF, who lives just outside Xenia, said area residents had little or no warning that the storm was on its way. "This caught everyone by surprise," Baker said. "We were under a watch and that went into a warning, but this sort of came out of the blue." The weather service had issued a severe thunderstorm watch, but no tornado watches or warnings.
The storm knocked out power to much of Xenia, and electricity was not expected to restored until sometime today. Repeaters remained operational, however. Baker said the Xenia Weather Amateur Radio Net--X-WARN--"did some fantastic yeoman's service." He said amateurs helped in setting up shelters and securing generators for emergency power to aid in searches for victims.
Baker said amateurs also were stationed at shelters and at area hospitals, relaying information between Greene Memorial Hospital in downtown Xenia and outlying hospitals. "I was most impressed by what I heard," Baker said. "Amateur Radio really shone."
In addition to downed trees and power lines, heavy damage was reported at the Greene County Fairgrounds, where a festival was under way. The storm's winds overturned vehicles and shattered windows. Hail also was reported, and a church lost its roof. Most of a grocery store collapsed, and seven people were trapped inside.
Stone thanked amateurs from adjacent counties who checked in and offered assistance. "That's the way it should work, and does work, when the chips are down," he said. At this point, Stone said he has plenty of amateur volunteers in and around Xenia to handle current communication needs.
"The big job now is cleanup!" he said.
The Wednesday storm was a grim reminder of the deadly 1974 tornado that struck Xenia, killing nearly three dozen people and leveling much of the city. Baker said X-WARN was formed as a result of the 1974 tornado disaster.