BEAVERCREEK — A tornado that roared through a Beavercreek shopping center parking lot and a nearby residential neighborhood caused only two minor injuries Tuesday afternoon. According to Scott Dorsten, deputy chief of the Beavercreek Township Fire Department, both injuries were to individuals who were in their vehicles when the tornado passed by that “were tossed around during the storm.”
Dorsten said both individuals were removed from the scene with minor injuries. No information was available on their conditions Wednesday.
The National Weather Service confirmed Tuesday that a tornado passed through the Greene Crossing Shopping Center parking lot and a neighborhood just northeast of Indian Ripple Road, at about 5:15 p.m. Tuesday. The NWS later ruled the twister to be an EF-1, which was on the ground for about .5 miles, with a maximum path width of 70 yards.
The twister was responsible for damage to buildings and vehicles at the shopping center, as well as homes in the residential neighborhood, according to Dorsten. He mentioned two homes in the area as having “damage of significance,” with several others having minor roof damage, as well as downed trees and power lines in the area.
“One house may have some structural damage where part of the roof was blown off, lifted up and folded back,” Dorsten said. “The other house had damage too from where a tree fell onto it.”
At the shopping center, Dorsten said the Fitworks building sustained the most damage, it having damage to its roof and front facade. Several vehicles in the center’s parking lot were tossed around in the tornado’s estimated 105 mph winds.
“There were approximately 20-25 vehicles damaged, with three vehicles on their top, one on its side and several others that had been rolled,” Dorsten said.
Across Indian Ripple Road at The Greene Town Center, no injuries were reported, with only minimal damage to trees and signs on the ground, according to Steve Willshaw, general manager of the center.
No damage estimates were available Wednesday.
