Residents of the town of Trotwood in Ohio inspect damage to their homes following powerful tornados on May 28 (Matthew Hatcher)

Washington (AFP) – Residents of Ohio inspected destroyed homes and debris-strewn streets Tuesday after powerful tornadoes ripped through the US state overnight, causing at least one fatality and widespread damage and power outages.

One twister that barrelled through the city of Dayton had left 80,000 people without power as day broke, the city’s assistant fire chief Nicholas Hosford told ABC News.

“We have homes flattened, entire apartment complexes destroyed, businesses throughout our community where walls have collapsed,” Hosford said.

“I don’t know that any community that is fully prepared for this type of devastation,” he added.

That twister was one of many that touched down Monday night and roared through eight US states — perhaps as many as 52 altogether, according to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.

As the scope of the damage became visible with daylight, rescue teams searching for tornado victims in Dayton went door-to-door in areas particularly hard hit by the storm.

– ‘Almost like a train’ –

Hosford said an unknown number of people in Dayton were in fact injured or displaced from their homes.

The one known fatality so far is an 81-year-old-man in Celina, Ohio, which is about a 90-minute drive north of Dayton, said Celina Mayor Jeffrey Hazel. The man died when a car crashed into his house, Hazel said. 

Drone footage broadcast on US TV outlets showed large, modern homes in Celina obliterated by the tornado while ones right next door dodged its fury.

On one interstate highway north of Dayton, the debris was so thick that crews used snow plows to push aside tree branches and rubble, said the Ohio Department of Transportation.

Kylie Post, a Celina resident, said that when she heard tornado sirens start blaring, she and her son took shelter in a bathtub and covered themselves with a mattress — because their house has no basement.

“The first thing I heard was the sirens. Then, next it sounded almost like a train was near us that lasted for only a few minutes,” Post told Cincinnati.com

Dayton city hall asked people to conserve water because power at water plants and pumping stations was knocked out.

The National Weather Service said the tornado cut electricity supplies to five million people statewide, not just in Dayton, and parts of Ohio faced the risk of flash flooding.

Emergency workers shut down gas lines and trying to get to residents trapped by debris, officials in Montgomery County said.

The tornado was the third in a week to rake the central US.

At least two people died and another 29 were hospitalized in Oklahoma over the weekend when a tornado flattened a mobile home park in El Reno.

President Donald Trump, wrapping up a trip to Asia, tweeted that he had offered federal resources for the cleanup.

Another three died last Wednesday when a tornado packing speeds of 160 miles (260 kilometers) per hour tore through Jefferson City in Missouri.

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Disclaimer: Validity of the above story is for 7 Days from original date of publishing. Source: AFP.