Authorities in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky on Friday began to survey the immense damage inflicted by suspected tornadoes that leveled homes and businesses and killed at least three people, though officials expect the number of fatalities to rise.
Officials in central Ohio’s Logan County are dealing with a mass casualty incident with at least 3 deaths from a suspected tornado that struck a trailer park near Indian Lake, located about 70 miles northwest of Columbus.
“It’s one hell of a mess up there,” Logan County Sheriff Randy Dodds told the Columbus Dispatch, part of the USA TODAY Network. “It looks like a war zone.”
Dodds said there were areas where first responders could not search overnight because of debris and downed power lines that made it unsafe for first responders. He said there is anticipation that there may be more people found dead during searches that will continue Friday morning.
Tornado touchdowns were also reported near Jenera in Hancock County south of Findlay in northwest Ohio and near Plymouth along the Huron-Richland counties line. A half-mile-wide tornado was reported on the ground in Huron County by that county’s emergency management agency with damage to homes and structures reported, according to the NWS Cleveland.
Indiana State Police Superintendent Douglas Carter said at a news conference Thursday night there “have been many significant injuries” but that he was not aware of any deaths in Winchester, a town 70 miles northeast of Indianapolis. “I don’t know the number; I don’t know where they are; I don’t know what those injuries are – none of us do.”
