Friday’s Storm Tears through Avondale

AVONDALE, OH – A terrible storm came through and wreaked havoc on the Avondale area taking out power and damaging homes. While the storm raged outside, many residents like Heather Fountain, could only wait trapped in their homes not knowing how much damage was being done.

“There was no warning, there was a couple claps of thunder and I got the dogs in the house. So the next thing you know the hail started, and it was just sheets of rain. You couldn’t even see of the porch. It was just white. Wind, I couldn’t open the door, it sucked it back shut and it kept on for ten minutes and it got louder and I heard a big boom and as you can see the tree behind me had uprooted. I didn’t know the rest of the trees or anything else. We couldn’t get outside at that time. It lasted for about ten minutes it was really scary,” Fountain said.

Emergency services had struggled getting access to the community since the storm had closed Route 93 and 22 for several hours, but once the storm was over the community came together to check on their neighbors and assess the damage. That sense of community during this time meant a lot to local residents.

“It was wonderful. Checking on everybody. There was an elderly lady, thank goodness she fell asleep in her chair because it went through her house and landed on her bed. Just making sure everybody was okay. It was just amazing and area businesses was in the are hitting up food and water. The fire department. So it was really, it’s really heart warming to know in a time of terror that we came together like we are,” Fountain said.

Residents like Fountain have reached out to their insurance providers for help but for her and others like her, the financial assistance from them won’t come through until Monday leaving the community to handle the weekend on their own. Which is why Fountain has appealed for community donations to help those in Avondale make it through this difficult time.