OAN’s Avril Elfie
2:17pm – Friday, March 15, 2024
A tornado hits Ohio, killing at least three people and leaving others injured in Indiana.
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Severe weather battered several states in the Midwest, with a tornado hitting Logan County, Ohio, and an Indiana town reporting serious injuries, a collapsed building and at least three deaths on Thursday.
Logan County Sheriff Randall Dodds said more injuries and deaths could be confirmed as the day progresses.
“It’s devastating, it’s an unbelievable devastation. It’s probably going to be even worse when the sun comes up,” he said.
Dodds said heavy equipment will be needed to access some of the homes damaged by the storm. After searching a specific area twice to make sure no one was trapped, deputies used dogs to search the area again, he continued.
“We’re hopeful today that we’ll find some survivors of the night. We look forward to that,” Dodds said.
A “high-end” EF-2 tornado hit Logan County, and an EF-1 tornado touched down in Licking and western Mercer counties Friday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.
Gov. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) said the Ohio Department of Transportation and the Ohio Highway Patrol are assisting communities affected by the storm.
according to power outage.usAs of Friday afternoon, 16,979 customers in Ohio were without power.
“Ohioans will come together, as always, with resilience and compassion as we support and rebuild our communities,” DeWine said.
A few minutes before 8 p.m., a possible tornado struck Winchester, Indiana, a city of about 4,800 people near the Ohio state line. Authorities reported that several buildings in the city were destroyed and homes damaged.
Thirty-nine patients from the storm were admitted to Ascension St. Vincent Hospital in Winchester as of midnight, the hospital reported.
No tornadoes were confirmed in Winchester, but the National Weather Service reported probable tornado damage.
Up to half of the buildings in Selma, a town of about 750 people west of Winchester, may have been damaged, emergency management officials said.
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