CENTRAL OHIO (WCMH) — A line of strong thunderstorms left a line of damage across Central Ohio as they passed through Central Ohio Saturday morning.
Reports of downed trees, fences and power lines flowed in as the storms rolled through. The storms caused power outages that initially affected more than 6,000 people in Delaware and Franklin counties.
Most of the damage was reported in South Columbus, Hilliard, East Columbus and Delaware State Park.
Luckily, no major injuries were reported, despite the damage throughout the region.
It was a scary morning for Julie Mason, who was sound asleep in her tent at the Delaware County campgrounds with two other girls when strong winds knocked over the tent.
“Our tent just kind of caved in,” said Mason. “We all tried to hold it up but it just flipped right over. We heard some screaming we weren’t sure who it was. We finally ripped a hole in the tent and saw a tree down, it was just panic.”
Barack Ackerman had just walked back inside his camper from being out in the rain when he heard a loud knock at his door.
“The gentleman in the tents come running up beating on the door saying, ‘I need help! My kids are in the tent and a tree is in it!’, said Ackerman.
His wife called 911. Seconds later, campers heard a loud crash. High winds sent a nearby camper in the air, flipping it upside down.
“I was on the road and I looked back and I see this camper flipped upside down. And I told her, ‘Call them again. We need some more help.’ I didn’t know what we had out here,: said Ackerman.
Ackerman says propane tanks started leaking from the camper. Nearby neighbors jumped in to shut them off.
ONDR officer immediately came to the campgrounds conducting wellness checks and taking damage reports. Fortunately, no one appears to have been seriously injured.