The city’s Terrace Park neighborhood in southern Brookville and the nearby wastewater treatment plant were badly damaged in the tornado. Recreated Automotive at Brookville-Pyrmont and Johnsville-Brookville roads also was leveled by the EF3 tornado, which swept through western Montgomery County, Trotwood, Dayton and Riverside.
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“Structurally, some portions of the homes are totally gone,” said Acting City Manager Sonja Keaton. “The amount of trees that were uprooted in that plat is unbelievable. The amount of vehicles that are actually moved from where they were parked. Some of them look like they were actually moved, and they are up against the downed trees.”
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The National Weather Service confirmed today that 13 tornadoes struck the Dayton region Monday.
Keaton said the Terrace Park subdivision, located off Westbrook Road in southern Brookville, has about 226 homes and Fire Chief Ronald E. Fletcher told her that an estimated 25 percent of them are damaged. Keaton said she knew of at least three injuries, with at least one person transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
PHOTOS: Brookville tornado damage
The city remains under a water boil advisory, Keaton said.
RELATED: State of Emergency issued for Trotwood; Hara Arena roof blown off, schools closed after tornadoes
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
The city is using a generator to power its wastewater treatment plant, located east of Terrace Park on Wolf Creek Street.
“Our wastewater treatment plant took a direct hit,” Keaton said. “Our pre-treatment roof caved in. We’ve got a lot of damage to our lab.”
Keaton said no one at the plant was injured.
Workers are removing trees that have fallen into Wolf Creek behind the plant.
Montgomery County Administrator Michael Colbert said Brookville requested a county-owned trackhoe, which is a type of heavy machinery larger than a backhoe, to help clear Wolf Creek and resolve flooding.
“It was filled with debris and created a dam effect,” Colbert said.
She said the city wants to provide a place for residents to meet with their insurance company adjusters to talk about filing claims and other paperwork after the tornado. She has arranged for local Allstate insurance Agent Mike Hild to meet with Allstate policy holders Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m. to noon in Building 3 at Golden Gate Park, 545 E. Upper Lewisburg-Salem Road, Brookville.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
Brookville Local Schools were also closed Tuesday after part of the roof was blown off and doors were damaged at the K-12 school complex, according to Superintendent Tim Hopkins.
RELATED: School tornado damage could affect start date for fall
Keaton, who has served as acting city manager for two months, said she has lived in Brookville her whole life and has never seen storm damage like that which has occurred in Terrace Park. She said on some streets every home is severely damaged, while others one street over remain untouched. Residents are being permitted to go into the neighborhood but people who do not live there are causing traffic problems.
“We are talking about possibly blocking off Westbrook Road because we have a lot of people traveling that way just to see the damage, and it is making the traffic horrendous,” Keaton said.
One of the emergency shelters opened by the American Red Cross is at The Ridge Church, 7555 Brookville Phillipsburg Road in Brookville.
Staff writer Chris Stewart contributed to this report.
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Lynn Hulsey is a member of the Investigation & Community Impact Team for the Dayton Daily News. She has written investigative pieces on numerous subjects, from chemical dangers to abuse of government contract programs. She has won awards from several organizations, including the Associated Press and the Society of Professional Journalists. Contact her on Facebook and Twitter.
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