From the Vault: Hurricane Ike in Cincinnati: Why weren't we prepared?

A wind storm from Hurricane Ike threw a knockout punch at the Tri-State on Sept. 14, 2008, cutting power to 782,000 of Duke's 900,000 customers and paralyzing some neighborhoods and communities for up to a week. Five people - three in the Cincinnati area, two in nearby Indiana - were killed by falling trees in wind gusts that topped 70 mph and set a record of 74 mph at CVG - approaching the force of a category 1 hurricane (sustained winds of 74-95 mph). No one expected or was prepared for what happened. One weather expert called it "a 100-year storm." High winds had been been predicted, but when they arrived early on Sunday afternoon, they had combined with a cold front from the north and created the Perfect Storm. "We have never seen anything like this. Never. We’re talking about 90 percent of our customers without power," Duke Energy spokesperson Kathy Meinke said.