Global Courant
One person was killed when a tornado torn down a home in Martin County, Indiana, as a storm front wreaked havoc across the Midwest and South on Sunday, officials said.
Martin County Emergency Management director Cameron Wolf confirmed the death and said the victim’s injured partner had been airlifted to a hospital. The person’s condition was not available.
Wolf described the tornado damage as somewhat isolated.
Elsewhere, more homes were damaged, roads were blocked by tree limbs and debris, and large hail was reported as the same storm front moved through southern and central Indiana and neighboring states.
Multiple tornadoes were reported in Central Indiana Sunday afternoon, the National Weather Service said. Forecasters believe separate eddies have caused structure damage at locations such as Greenwood and Bargersville.
Former Vice President Mike Pence, who served as governor of Indiana in the 2010s tweeted“Our hearts are with all the families impacted by today’s devastating tornado in Greenwood, Indiana. Praying for all affected and our first responders.”
Earlier in the day, Indianapolis Weather Service meteorologist Earl Breon said “house, crop and tree damage” was likely. By evening, the weather service announced that damage assessment teams would be on site Monday morning in Johnson County, Martin County and Southwest Monroe County.
In the town of Bargersville, south of Indianapolis, fire chief Eric Funkhouser said no serious injuries had been reported, but an estimated 75 homes had sustained moderate to severe damage, according to NBC. WTHR from Indianapolis.
Bargersville Fire Department spokesman Michael Pruitt said some structures may have collapsed on a four-mile swath of damaged earth.
Bargersville firefighters said a secondary search of the most damaged neighborhoods was underway Sunday evening to ensure any casualties are reached and counted.
Emergency shelters were set up throughout Central Indiana for those whose homes had been rendered uninhabitable by the tornadoes.
Breon said Central Indiana residents also reported hail, mostly in the 2-inch range, but with some instances as large as 4 inches — big enough to dent vehicles and damage roofs.
Motorists braving the area’s roads were wary of fallen limbs and debris, he said.
The front, produced by cold air from the Great Lakes region moving south and east and colliding with a heat wave to the south, had moved southeast out of the state by late evening as tornado warnings were issued. of the weather service and warnings for Indiana decreased.
The unstable line of thunderstorms helped knock out power for more than 728,000 utilities in Indiana, Kentucky, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Georgia and Michigan, according to electricity tracker PowerOutage.us.
Courtney Brogle, Tavleen Tarrant and Joe Kottke contributed.
