Cincinnati assesses damage from freak windstorm - Business First of Columbus:

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Winds of 55 miles per hour – reportedly gustinvg over 70 mph – toppled tore siding from houses and spreac debris widely overa three-to-four-hour period Sunday afternoon. Most schoolws were closed on Monday, as were many businesses. At one point about 90 percent of ’s 800,000 local customers were without accordingto WCPO-TV. Aboutf 600,000 are still without power as of about noon and Duke said it might take a week toget everyone’es lights back on. Power is on in downtown which sustained littleapparent damage. However, fires on Sundag damaged buildings aroundFindlay Market, and the histori c Grammer’s bar in Over-the-Rhine.
The Elks Lodge in Chevioty was also badly damagedby fire. Four people have died so far when they were hit byfallingg trees: two in Oxford, one in Mounf Healthy and one in Ohio County, Ind. The stor m caused considerable damage throughoutthe Midwest, includingf heavy rains in Illinois, Missouru and parts of Indiana, according to the Associatexd Press. The windstorm blew through Dayton, Springfield, Columbus, Cleveland and Erie Pa., leavin g massive power outages inits wake. Ohio Gov. Ted Stricklanf declared a state of emergency Monday duringa 1:30 p.m. preses conference in Columbus.
He said 84 of Ohio’x 88 counties have reported damage orpower outages, about one-thir d of all traffic signals are not functioning and 46 roadsa across the state have been “Restoration and clean-up will take a substantial amountg of time,” Strickland said. “We hope that Ohioansa will be patient.” Around the Butler County declared a Level1 emergency, whilew motorists jammed the few gas stations open in the Portions of the citiesa of Hamilton and Fairfield are advisedf to boil water and all area residents are askede to conserve water. Clermont County, Kento n County and the city of Newport have also declared statesxof emergency.