Multiple twisters struck central Indiana Wednesday – damaging homes, leveling buildings and piling cars on top of one another like toys.
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This image made from a video shows a tornado Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2016, in Kokomo, Ind.
Storm damage across the northeastern part of Allen County is consistent with wind speeds between 135 and 160 miles per hour, according to the National Weather Service.
Marc Dahmer, with the NWS in Indianapolis, said 20 minor injuries were reported in Kokomo.
State police said Friday that about 1,000 total homes were damaged in Wednesday’s storm, with about 170 of those sustaining major damage.
Kokomo High School’s football game scheduled Friday night at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis was called off, with the team’s players and coaches and those from rival Hamilton Heights volunteering for cleanup duties.
Colby tells the Kokomo Tribune about a dozen team members had their homes or those of relatives damaged in Wednesday’s storm.
The agency said Friday survey teams had confirmed weak EF0 tornadoes that caused little damage near the cities of Peru and Kokomo. The Indianapolis mayor’s office said in a statement that emergency crews helped more than 15 people from vehicles stuck in high water.
Winds of about 60 miles per hour blew trees onto homes and across streets.
A county official says the homes lost siding, shingles and have a few broken windows.
Some 140 people remained at a Red Cross shelter in Kokomo as cleanup work continued around the city and utility crews tried to restore power.
Four of those tornadoes touched down in the WLFI-TV viewing area: two EF1 tornadoes in Howard County, an EF2 in Crawfordsville and an EF3 in Kokomo.
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Between the 6 confirmed tornadoes and the 1 preliminary rating given to the Allen County storm, our current tornado count across northeast IN and northwest OH stands at 7. Tornado warnings were issued in 27 counties, and eight funnel clouds were spotted throughout the afternoon but it’s unclear how many touched down, according to Howard County authorities.
