Deadly storms hit US

SEVERE storms with probable tornadoes have torn through several central US states, damaging homes and businesses and killing at least three people, with more bodies likely to be discovered, authorities said.

As the sun rose on Friday, officials scrambled to assess the extent of the destruction with the power out. The three deaths came in Logan County, Ohio, according to the sheriff’s office there.

Thursday night’s storms also left trails of destruction in Kentucky, Indiana and Arkansas. Tornadoes were also suspected in Illinois and Missouri.

“Three people have been confirmed dead. We are working on identifying the victims,” said a statement from chief deputy Joe Kopus, of the Logan County Sheriff’s Office.

There were “many, many significant injuries” after a suspected tornado in Winchester, Indiana, where search efforts were under way, officials said. There were no known fatalities as of Friday morning.

“I’m shaken; it’s overwhelming,” said Bob Mccoy, mayor of the town of 4,700 about 70 miles north-east of Indianapolis. “I heard what sounded like a train, and then I started hearing sirens.”

The Winchester storm damaged a Walmart store and a Taco Bell restaurant, said Randolph County sheriff Art Moystner. Travel throughout the county is restricted to emergency management workers, he said.

West of Winchester, emergency management officials said initial assessments suggested as many as half the structures in the town of Selma were damaged by a possible tornado. Only minor injuries were reported, the Delaware County Emergency Management Agency said.

In Ohio’s Logan County, a suspected tornado tore through the villages of Lakeview and Russells Point, county spokesperson Sheri Timmers said.

An RV park was damaged, Ms Timmers said, and there were likely “lots of injuries”.

Amber Fagan, president and chief executive of the Indian Lake Area Chamber of Commerce, said the community of Lakeview was “completely demolished”, with homes and campgrounds hit by the tornado.

“There’s places burning,” she said. “There’s power lines through people’s windows.”