dpUpdated July 21, 2026, 9:27 p.m. ET
The Licking County Emergency Management Agency is assessing damage in Newark after a severe thunderstorm with strong winds ripped the roof off a church and left thousands without electricity.
Licking County EMA Director Sean Grady told The Advocate that a July 21 storm tore much of the roof off of The Church Triumphant, 113 Madison Ave. Some of the roof was in the street. There were also around 30 downed wires from the storm and more than 15,000 power outages in the county, he said.
There hadn’t been any other major damage and no reported injuries as of 5 p.m. July 21, Grady said. The agency is scouring the area to check for impacts from the storm and is not yet sure if the state will require damage assessments.
Despite a flash flood warning from the National Weather Service in Wilmington until 7 p.m. July 21 for the southern portion of Licking County, Grady said the agency didn’t have any concern over flooding issues from the storm. It’s asking residents to visit ema.lickingcounty.gov to report storm damage.
Advocate reporter Josué Perez can be reached at [email protected].
