Storm rips Sandusky

Update, 8 p.m.SANDUSKY — Bricks, glass and building chunks tore through downtown as an intense storm pummeled Sandusky just before 6 p.m. Thursday.At that moment, time slowed down for city resident Erin Long."I looked up and saw the roof lift up and land across my car," said Long, who was in the driver's seat as storm debris punched a hole through a building and tossed its roof toward her."Everything was shaking and moving," she said of her car, purchased just three hours earlier. "I crawled through my back seat to get out."Long emerged unharmed to a disaster scene.Debris from buildings and cars scattered across East Water Street near Columbus Avenue and Daly's Pub. Trees were ripped apart, and a power line stretched down from atop a nearby building.Crowds soon gathered around the scene as witnesses traded stories and shared looks of shock and horror."This just doesn't happen here," said Sandusky resident Chuck Stearns, who was inside a nearby restaurant when the storm hit. "The rain was a whiteout, like a blizzard. Water started coming in the door."[gallery]City resident Joe Lewis was at Daly's Pub when the wind started."The chairs and tables were blowing around like crazy," Lewis said. "Everything happened so fast. It's just horrible."Sandusky first responders quickly blocked off the street and scanned the scene for anyone hurt. Sandusky fire Capt. Brian Cowie said no one sustained injuries as result of the storm. Just before the storm intensified, city resident Vernon Ali smoked a cigarette behind Daly's — a few dozen feet from the disaster zone — admiring the rain."I walked back inside to tell the guys it didn't look that bad out. That's when I suddenly heard a huge 'boom' and saw half the building was gone," Ali said. "It got really bad really fast."Emergency crews combed through the debris and began the cleanup.Although her brand new car is totaled, Long said she feels lucky."If I had been one more space over, I probably wouldn't be here," she said. "Thank God no one else was in the parking lot. It could have been a lot worse." * Update 6:30 p.m.Storms ripped though downtown Sandusky Thursday, damaging buildings cars and spraying aging debris across the business district in downtown Sandusky. At least two buildings' roofs were affected.Several cars in the area were impaled by wood and other pieces of roof debris. Sandusky Fire Capt. Brian Cowie said nobody was hurt in the collapse and nobody was found in the building.One man, 26-year-old Chris Stearnes of Sandusky, said he witnessed the storm from inside the nearby Small City Taphouse restaurant. "The rain was a whiteout, like a blizzard," Stearnes said. "Water started coming in the door (of Small City)."He added he then ran outside and "discovered the carnage."Sandusky Police and Fire remain at the scene. As for storm damage in Erie County, Patten Tract Road between Wood and Strecker roads in Oxford Township is closed due to a tree blocking the street, according to Chief Deputy Jared Oliver.Check back for updates.Original postSANDUSKY — A roof ripped off a building Water Street building and fell on several cars. The damage came following a severe storm around 6 p.m.The building was supposed to be the future home of the new Lake Erie Shores and Islands tourism bureau. A section of roof rests atop damaged vehicles on Water Street Thursday afternoon.Bricks cover the ground below a building damaged by a storm that ripped through downtown Sandusky on Thursday, July 26, 2018.People look at the damage caused by a strong storm in downtown Sandusky on Thursday, July 26, 2018.A roof on a Water Street building collapsed Thursday afternoon.Debris lies on the road in front of a row of Water Street buildings, where at least two roofs were damaged Thursday afternoon. Debris from a fallen roof impaled this car's windshield Thursday afternoon near Water Street. A rainbow appears as crews begin to cleanup the damage left by a strong storm in downtown Sandusky on Thursday, July 26, 2018.Part of a roof rests on top of vehicles parked in a parking lot off Water Street in downtown Sandusky on Thursday, July 26, 2018.Firefighters survey the scene after a strong storm ripped through downtown Sandusky, damaging buildings and cars on Thursday, July 26, 2018.Tree limbs and debris cover the ground after a storm ripped through downtown Sandusky on Thursday, July 27, 2018.