This time, he wasn’t so lucky and the storm did some damage to his home, but he was still thankful it wasn’t worse.
Advertisement
The National Weather Service says five tornadoes touched down Wednesday in Indiana.
Howard County and the city of Kokomo have only 10 tornado sirens, but a telephone and text-messaging system spread the word about risky storms bearing down on the central in community. Marion County’s tornado was rated EF0.
Before the first tornado struck Wednesday, thousands of people received telephone calls or text messages. While the state’s Department of Homeland Security initially said 12 tornadoes were confirmed, it lowered that count to eight late Thursday morning.
Not even KISS could rock “n” roll all night with tornado sirens blaring. A tornado warning also briefly stopped KISS from shouting out loud during a show at Toledo, Ohio, though there was no touchdown.
Gregory and other meteorologists said the storms came out of the blue. The area was hit by tornados Wednesday afternoon.
About six trailers were damaged at a mobile home park near Hicksville in Ohio.
The storm then hit a Starbucks, totally flattening the building.
Marc Dahmer, with the NWS in Indianapolis, said 20 minor injuries were reported in Kokomo.
Heidi Otiker lives on a block that was hit Wednesday, as well as by a tornado in November 2013.
Pence and U.S. Sen.
But no one was injured at the apartments, he said, adding: “So, I guess we’re all blessed at the Park Place”. It was unclear how many touched down.
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.
The tornado, which touched down around 3:24 p.m., entered Kokomo while moving east at 30 miles per hour, according to the NWS. Hundreds of people are now without homes. People from across the area spent the day Thursday helping those affected by the storms. The Republican vice-presidential candidate was campaigning in North Carolina when the twisters touched down in Indiana.
Meteorologist Dave Tucek says a tornado moved from the southwest side of Kokomo to the east-central side of that city. Many houses sustained serious damage.
Utility companies report at least 15,000 homes and businesses remain without electricity in Howard County.
Police have restricted access to storm-damage neighborhoods, saying residents must show identification to officers before entering.
A tornado outbreak occurred in IN and Ohio Wednesday afternoon and evening. Once the survey team has examined the damage it can determine how intense the tornado was, according to the weather service.
Multiple tornadoes were reported across central IN throughout the afternoon.
One shelter is at the Kokomo Event and Conference Center. But players and coaches from both teams will volunteer for cleanup duties.
The National Weather Service says at least eight tornadoes touched down on Wednesday causing substantial damage.
Pence said he’s amazed no one was seriously hurt.
Advertisement
“It’s a miracle and it’s a testament to good common sense”, Pence said.
