GOSHEN, Ohio — Goshen is expected to be without power for days after an EF2 tornado touched down Wednesday, township administrator Steve Pegram said.
More than 1,000 crews came in from hours away, working 16-hour shifts to clear trees and fix power lines as Duke Energy reports areas hardest hit by the storm may not get power restored until Sunday night.
"Utter devastation," Duke Energy spokesperson Sally Thelen said. "I think we'll certainly make great headway, as many as we can restore in the next 24-36 hours."
Duke Energy estimated more than 100 power poles need to be replaced before power lines can even be strung. Crews will need to rebuild the electric system.
"The storm also destroyed numerous electric transmission and distribution facilities ... all of which will need to be replaced, repaired or rebuilt before power can be restored to individual homes and businesses," Duke Energy said in a release.
Even when power is restored, Duke Energy said some homes and businesses will not receive power if meter boxes were pulled away from homes or underground service lines were damaged.
Pegram said around 150 to 200 known buildings have been damaged as of Thursday afternoon.
"The blessing in this was the area that was hit is our more rural part of the township," Pegram said. "So Goshen has a suburban component and a rural component, and it definitely hit our more rural area."
Despite this, the homes and buildings that were hit have significant damage, Pegram said.
"We're lucky. We're very blessed," Pegram said. "It could've been a lot, lot worse."
Duke Energy said customers living in mobile homes are responsible for the service pole and service line that runs from pole to meter. Customers are also responsible for meter boxes that are no longer attached to their homes.
The tornado hit Goshen around 3 p.m. Wednesday. The township is under a state of emergency.
There were no fatalities or serious injuries, but one first responder and one resident were slightly injured.
As cleanup is underway in the township, an emergency shelter has been set up and staffed by the Red Cross at Goshen High School. There, families can receive shelter, food, water and more resources, including oxygen and oxygen masks for those that may need home setups.
Emergency management has a hotline for unmet needs: People can call (513) 735-8500.
"I think No. 1 we need is prayers. To be with our community," said Pegram. "We just need time to allow everybody to do their job. We have all the resources we need at this point. We just need neighbors to take care of neighbors."
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