TOLEDO, Ohio — Less than 24 hours after an EF-2 tornado tore through Point Place's Shoreland neighborhood, residents of the River Bend apartments are in search of resources. Because of downed power lines, much of the journey is on foot.
Mark White rushed home from work Thursday when he heard the sirens. When he got there, his four-year-old son's bedroom was destroyed. No one else was home, and the family's dog was safe.
While residents like White count their losses, the American Red Cross said because the infrastructure still stands, there are no resources available.
People like White are on their own.
"I'll reach out to the veteran community and see what they have to offer with food," he said. "All my food is just spoiled and I'll probably seek someplace to stay until they can get us power and hot water."
White said he was one of the lucky ones, though.
Other River Bend residents saw the tornado up close and personal.
"It was really scary," resident Matthew Tipton said. "I was standing out back when [the tornado] came down. I had to run into the building. And then it was hard to get in because my door was vacuumed shut. When I got in there, I shut the front window, shut the middle window and I looked out the window and I watched the building get sucked off the ground and taken away."
Tipton said with no warning, he had to trust his instincts. He rushed to the bathroom and ducked for cover.
Residents said tornado sirens rang 20 minutes after the damage had been done. By that time they were already looking to help others.
In a news conference Friday, Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz and the Lucas County EMA both acknowledged the warning sirens sounded late. They said because the conditions and tornado came on very fast, the sirens didn't trigger early.
Once it was safe, "we were going door to door making sure no one was hurt, no one was cut. It was hectic," Tipton said.
White said it's going to be tough, but the goal is for Point Place residents to stick together.
"Stay strong," White said. "We, as a community, got you, and all you have to do is just ask and we will come through."