The Latest on recovery efforts from tornadoes touching down in central Indiana (all times local): 10:55 a.m. Indiana Gov. Mike Pence has been hugging and chatting with people whose homes were destroyed or damaged when a tornado whipped through the city of Kokomo.
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About a dozen people suffered minor injuries as the twisters moved through the area Wednesday, Indiana State Police Capt. David Bursten said.
The storm swept across Indianapolis Friday morning, knocking down numerous trees onto homes and across streets. Those were two of at least 12 confirmed tornadoes in Indiana.
Postmaster Dennis Sweeney continued on with his job duties on Wednesday, even after finding out his home had been destroyed from one of the eight tornadoes that went through Howard County.
Officials say about 1,000 homes were damaged around the city.
Several of those tornadoes struck Howard County, where the south side of the city of Kokomo suffered extensive damage.
The National Weather Service has confirmed eight tornadoes touched down throughout the state of IN on Wednesday.
At the Park Place Apartments in Kokomo, maintenance technician Mitchell Carlson described the post-storm scene as “a madhouse”. He said the complex has 16 buildings and “probably eight of them don’t have a roof”.
He estimated 20 to 30 cars had been damaged by falling tree limbs and air conditioners. By midday Friday, utility Duke Energy reported fewer than 4,000 properties without electricity and predicted all would have power restored by Saturday night.
The National Weather Service is inspecting all those reports Thursday to verify whether or not it was an actual tornado that caused the damages.
Tens of thousands of people were left without power, and Goodnight said a major focus now is working on repairing damaged lines and restoring power. Kokomo is about 50 miles north of Indianapolis. Upon his return, Pence visited the state’s emergency operations centre in downtown Indianapolis.
The governor also said he had a “grateful heart” that there were no reports of deaths or serious injuries.
This image made from a video provided by WTHR 13 shows damage to homes after a tornado in Kokomo, Ind., Wednesday.
“Kokomo and Howard County will bounce back once again, and once again we’ve got to reach in deep and do the work of recovery”, Wyman said.
At 4:23 p.m, the National Weather Service confirmed a large and extremely unsafe tornado was located in Indianapolis, saying “This is a particularly risky situation, take cover now!”
Teresa Hillman walks to her apartment, Thursday, Aug. 25, 2016, in Kokomo, Ind. Hillman was forced to leave her apartment after the area was hit by tornados Wednesday afternoon. “We’ve just seen photographs of the starbucks coffee shop and there were no injuries”.
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Indiana University Kokomo cancelled all events on campus Wednesday evening due to the severe weather.
