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Mayor urges residents to prepare as storms continue after major South Side damage
Summary
The mayor of Columbus held an emergency briefing as storms brought 82-mph gusts and heavy damage, urging residents to prepare for extended outages, follow safety guidance and expect daily updates; city leaders described concentrated damage on the South Side and ongoing search and recovery operations.
The mayor of Columbus opened an emergency briefing to warn residents that the city remains under a flood advisory and to urge preparations for another line of storms expected that afternoon and evening. "My very top concern is the safety and well-being of our residents," the mayor said, and pledged daily updates as crews work through outages and damage.
City leaders said the National Weather Service warned of damaging winds, heavy rain, hail and the possibility of isolated tornadoes after a gust of 82 miles per hour was recorded at John Glenn International Airport. The mayor said intergovernmental coordination was underway — his chief of staff is working with county and state staff — and that city, county and state employees would stagger departures from downtown so first responders can focus on neighborhoods most impacted.
