Officials in Logan County, Ohio, reported at least six people were confirmed dead as of Friday morning
At least six people have died in Ohio following apparent tornadoes that tore through the Midwest states during a severe weather outbreak on Thursday, causing widespread damage from Indiana into the Buckeye State, officials reported.
Authorities in Washington Township, near Dayton, informed WCMH that at least six individuals lost their lives in the areas of Lakeview, Midway, and Orchard Island due to the violent storms. These storms also inflicted significant property damage. Witness reports indicated the occurrence of at least five tornadoes in Northern Ohio, as per FOX Weather.
According to Sheri Timmers, a spokesperson for Logan County, a suspected tornado caused damage to multiple buildings in the Indian Lake area, with several residents believed to have sustained various injuries.
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“We have numerous injuries as far as we know. The extent of the injuries is unknown at this time,” Timmers stated. “An RV park was affected by the tornado.”
As of Friday morning, nearly 20,000 electrical outages were reported across Ohio, according to PowerOutage.us.
Emergency management officials in Huron County issued a warning of a “confirmed large and extremely dangerous tornado” near Plymouth.
Another suspected tornado touched down approximately 75 miles to the west in Winchester, Indiana, a town with a population of 4,700 located nearly 70 miles northeast of Indianapolis.
The Indiana State Police stated on Friday that there are “many significant injuries.”
“There have been many, many significant injuries, but I don’t know the number. I don’t know where they are. I don’t know what those injuries are,” Indiana State Police Superintendent Douglas Carter told a group of reporters just after midnight. “There’s a lot that we don’t know yet.”
The storm caused damage to a Walmart store and a Taco Bell in Winchester, Randolph County Sheriff Art Moystner informed FOX59/CBS4.
“I’m shaken; it’s overwhelming,” said Winchester Mayor Bob McCoy in a statement to The Associated Press. “I heard what sounded like a train and then I started hearing sirens. I’ve never heard that sound before; I don’t want to hear it again.”
To the west of Winchester, in Delaware County, emergency management officials stated that about half of the structures in the small town of Selma were damaged by a potential tornado.
“We are relieved to report that only minor injuries have been reported thus far, with one individual transported to the hospital for treatment,” announced the Delaware County Emergency Management Agency in a news release.
Storms also caused damage to homes and trailers in Hanover and Lamb.