At least three people were killed after a possible tornado hit Logan County, Ohio, and significant injuries and flattened buildings were reported in an Indiana town as severe weather struck several states Thursday, officials said.
Logan County, Ohio, Sheriff Randall Dodds said that there were two deaths at the Geiger Mobile Home Park in Lakeview, north of Dayton, after a reported tornado hit the area.
He confirmed the third storm-related death during a Friday morning news conference. It was not immediately clear if the death also occurred at the mobile home park.
Speaking to NBC’s “TODAY” show earlier Friday, Dodds said it is possible that more injuries or deaths could be confirmed as the day progresses.
“It’s devastating — devastation beyond belief. It will probably be even more severe when daylight comes up,” he said.
Heavy lifting equipment is needed to gain access to some houses damaged by the storm, Dodds said. He added that some areas had been searched twice but deputies would again comb the area with dogs to make sure no one is trapped.
“I’m hoping we’re going to find some survivors today who made it through the night, and I’m looking forward to that happening,” Dodds said.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said the Ohio State Highway Patrol and the Ohio Department of Transportation were working to assist communities affected by the storm. As of Friday afternoon, 16,979 customers in Ohio were without power, according to poweroutage.us.
“Ohioans will come together as they always do with resilience and compassion as we support and rebuild our communities,” DeWine said.
‘Sky was completely black’ in Indiana
In Winchester, Indiana, homes were damaged and some buildings were flattened in the city of around 4,800 near the Ohio border after a possible tornado struck minutes before 8 p.m., officials said.
Earlier reports from Indiana State Police that three people died there were incorrect and the agency was not aware of any deaths, Indiana State Police Superintendent Doug Carter said — but he said there was a “terrible, terrible event” in Winchester and many significant injuries.
“I heard what sounded like a train,” Winchester Mayor Bob McCoy said of the storm.
“We need to really wait until the morning to really see what the true damage is,” he said. “We’re going to continue to work through the night and try and find people.”
The National Weather Service said that there was damage in Winchester, most likely from a tornado, but that a tornado had not been confirmed. Survey teams often confirm tornadoes later after they visit scenes of damage.
Up to half the buildings in Selma, a community of around 750 people west of Winchester, may have been damaged, emergency management officials said.
“The sky was completely black,” Lisa Gulley, who lives in Selma, told NBC affiliate WTHR of Indianapolis. She was filming the weather.
“I saw the clouds were kind of spinning and I saw it form, basically over my neighbor’s house, just two doors down — and then it just dropped,” Gulley said. “We barely had time to get in the house.”
Gulley told WTHR that as soon as they got in the hallway of their home, one of their fence panels went flying through a sliding glass door.
“The whole door just exploded,” she said. “It took all the shingles off the back of my house.”
The Emergency Management Agency in Delaware County, where Selma is, said despite the damage it was relieved to report only one minor injury as of late Thursday.
Indiana State Police initially said there were three deaths in Winchester. Carter, the state police superintendent, said he was glad that the information changed.
“The good news is, is at this point in time we don’t know,” Carter said. “I’ll tell you, coming over here I thought the death toll would be in excess of 20 or 25 people, based on the information that I was receiving.”
Ascension St. Vincent Hospital in Winchester said that as of midnight it had received 39 patients from the…
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