Reported tornado Monday night in Ottawa downs power lines, causes structural damage
A reported tornado tore through Ottawa on Monday night, toppling power lines and trees, leaving thousands in the dark and causing structural damage around the Franklin County town.
At 7:25 p.m., Franklin County Emergency Management and The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning, saying the storm was moving from the west to the east.
The National Weather Service in Topeka reported a tornado near Ottawa at 7:38 p.m.
“Ottawa took a direct hit,” said a voice on the Franklin County/Miami County Public Safety channel, whose traffic was captured by Broadcastify.com. Parts of the town were impassable, the voice said, and “power lines are down all over.”
The Weather Service said there were reports of damage in southern Ottawa, on Main Street between 15th and 23rd streets. It included wall and roof damage to a hotel, roof damage and a wall down at a gas station, and the roof removed from Daylight Donuts.
The city posted a damage assessment on its website just before 10 p.m. Monday.
“The storm has caused structural damage, but most importantly no loss of life or injuries have been reported within Ottawa at this time,” it said. “A majority of the town is without power and streetlights are not working. For the safety of everyone involved we ask that you remain off the roadways and to stay away from down power lines. “Our first priority is life safety. After that the focus will be on structure safety and then utility infrastructure evaluation and restoration. At this time there is no estimate for power to be restored.”
As the storm moved on, a call went out at 7:42 p.m. asking the Police Department to come to Eisenhower Road to keep traffic away from the downed lines.
“They’re going over lines, running through lines, all kinds of stuff,” the voice said.
At 7:43 p.m. came a report about someone being trapped inside a car at 15th St. and Montana Road with a power line on top of it. Six minutes later: “At 15th and Montana and east, all the power poles are laid on the ground.”
At 7:59 p.m. , there was a report of a “large natural gas leak” and a partial building collapse.
About 100 people were gathered in a community storm shelter, the radio traffic said. At 8 p.m. , “We’ve got significant damage on 17th Street.”
And at 8:18 p.m., a school bus full of students was reported to have gotten stuck while trying to turn around. Rescue crews were dispatched to get it out, and the school superintendent and parents were notified.
This story was originally published April 13, 2026 at 11:23 PM.
