Frazeysburg Faces Extensive Damage and Recovery Following Tornado

FRAZEYSBURG, OH – A  tornado swept through Frazeysburg last night, leaving the town in devastation.

The NWS storm damage survey team confirmed  an EF-2 tornado with max wind speeds of 130 mph hit Frazeysburg early Thursday morning

Frazeysburg residents woke up to a scene of devastation Thursday morning after a severe storm hit just before 1 AM. Trees are down everywhere, multiple buildings are damaged, and several homes have been affected. The storm struck suddenly, catching many off guard.

“We heard the siren go off, and then before it even hardly stopped the tornado hit. We had hardly any warning at all. In fact, when I said, ‘David what was that?’ he thought it was a hailstorm. This big tree went down, and the power went off, just completely,” Mary Beth Baker, Frazeysburg Resident said.

“My daughter called me this morning at about 5 o’clock and said she slept through a tornado, and she looked outside and saw the roof off the house across the street. She walked outside and saw the trees down and didn’t have any power, ” Father of a Frazeysburg Resident, Kenny Forsythe said.

The possible tornado hit after the initial tornado warning was cleared in the area. At the time, Frazeysburg was only under a severe thunderstorm warning. The National Weather Service arrived today to assess the damage and to determine if a tornado caused the destruction. Jeff Jadwin, the Muskingum County EMA Director, has no doubts.

“The tornado touched down just to the west of the village and came right down third street and followed the paths right through town. It covered the entire village as it went through. It lifted up, it didn’t do any damage in Cass Township, which is the next township to the east.”

Eight people were injured, with four of them transported to the hospital with minor injuries. Emergency services have been working tirelessly to clear debris and to ensure safety to the residents. In response to the situation, a shelter was opened at Frazeysburg Elementary for anyone without power or in need of a safe place to stay.

“Our biggest thing that we needed to concentrate on was searching all the houses in the village to make sure nobody was hurt, and nobody needed anything. Luckily, there was no causalities. Then at that point, just moving on to secure any buildings that were unsafe and check ones that were questionable and make sure that they’re structurally sound.” Frazeysburg Fire Chief, Rich Pierce said.

It will take a few weeks for the village to fully recover, but the community is coming together and helping each other through this difficult time.

American Electric Power reported that power should be restored by 8pm.