msdgc.org
MSD Active in Tornado Cleanup
In the spring of 1999, Greater Cincinnati weathered the area's most
devastating tornado in 25 years. MSD personnel
quickly went into action. Personnel from the Wastewater Collections
Division (WWC) quickly responded after the lethal winds struck in the
early morning hours of Friday, April 9. WWC sent workers to Sycamore
High School in northeast Hamilton County with heavy equipment for clearing
fallen trees and debris. Collections provided dump trucks, backhoes,
front-end loaders and cranes to assist with the cleanup. In all, 46
WWC and 3 Wastewater Treatment (WWT) personnel, including drivers and
equipment operators, laborers, crew leaders and supervisors, worked
for several days to help victims.
The tornado hit the Greater Cincinnati area between 4:00 and 6:30 a.m.,
hitting portions of southeast Indiana before entering Hamilton County.
In the southwest, the storm caused damage to areas of Addyston, wrecking
several homes. The winds then moved northeast, touching down again in
the Blue Ash-Montgomery area, damaging or destroying many homes and businesses.
The storm then left Hamilton County, tearing through locations including
the Harper's Point area in Warren County. The tornado also hit parts of
Clinton County further to the northeast before finally dissipating. Four
persons were killed as a result of the storm, two on local highways and
two at their home across from Sycamore High School. Widespread temporary
power outages affected about 200,000 members of the community, and traffic
patterns in the area were severely disrupted.
Several government agencies, as well as hundreds of volunteers, provided assistance to those in need as a result of the tornado. Although the storm has been devastating both physically and emotionally to its victims, MSD personnel worked hard to help smooth the road to recovery.
Photo Gallery
-
Trucks gathered at Sycamore High School for deployment * (44.3 k)
-
Stephen Jackson of WWC operates a backhoe in the relief effort * (64.1 k)
-
MSD personnel clear debris from a resident's yard * (70.3 k)
-
MSD workers collect the remains of fallen trees on a residential street * (61.0 k)
-
Homes in Montgomery hit by the tornado + (43.9 k)
-
Media from around the region were also based at Sycamore High School + (51.0 k)
Story by Mike Nalley. Photos by Phil Weimer (*) & Mike Nalley (+).
