MANSFIELD, Ohio — Residents in Richland County are still dealing with downed trees and power lines, wrecked cars and a roof blown off an apartment complex on Straub Road in Mansfield, after a severe storm Monday night.
Karen Smith was watching TV in her apartment when the storm hit.
"I heard the wind. I heard the rain. I heard everything on my front porch: my plants, the chairs, everything blew off, Karen told us.
Karen and her boyfriend took cover in this bathroom until it was safe. Nothing could have prepared her for what the storms left behind.
"I lost everything," she told us through tears.
She will move into a temporary home this weekend and build new memories, but looking back is crushing.
"The hardest thing is knowing how hard I worked to be able to rent this apartment," Karen said.
Just five miles away on Hanley Road -- massive damage to power lines.
Richland County emergency management director Joseph Petrycki says the National Weather Service confirmed a tornado touched down in the area Monday night.
Thousands are still without power tonight and it's hard to say when it will be back on.
"There is a lot of damage, significant damage and very large trees down into the lines, that it's just taken them them a while to get those trees cut up and remove them so they can actually start the process of restoring the power," Petrycki said.
The county has set up a number of cooling centers in the area. For a list, check out the below tweet:
Previous Reporting:
- Thousands still without power after severe storms: See which counties are hit hardest
- National Weather Service: EF-1 tornado touched down in Richland and Ashland counties during Monday's storm
- Mansfield Veterans Affairs Clinic closed Wednesday amid power outage and severe storm damage
- Overnight storms cause serious damage in Tuscarawas County
- 'No way in or out of camp by vehicle': Christian camp in Holmes County says storm damage cuts off access to property, campers safe