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Strong storms, tornadoes leave trail of destruction across Ohio

6 tornadoes confirmed so far, including an EF-2 tornado in Plymouth
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Posted at 7:14 AM, Mar 15, 2024
and last updated 2024-03-15 22:09:09-04

The State of Ohio was rocked by severe weather Thursday night.

Six tornadoes have been confirmed by storm survey teams so far. See a list of confirmed tornadoes here.

News 5 had live team coverage from around the state at 6 p.m. Friday with the latest on the confirmed tornadoes and the damage they wrought:

Team coverage of at least 6 tornadoes that devastated Ohio

Indian Lake

Logan County, Ohio, appeared to have some of the worst damage.

The sheriff said there were four deaths last night, three from the storm and one from natural causes.

News 5's Tessa DiTirro traveled to Logan County to see the devastation first-hand. She spoke to a family whose entire home was completely destroyed by a tornado there.

She also visited Orchard Island, where, she says, the damage was even worse:

Lakeview and the Indian Lake area, about 70 miles northeast of Columbus, were also devastated by the storms.

"It's pure devastation," Amber Fagan, the president and CEO of the Indian Lake Area Chamber of Commerce, told ABC6 in Columbus. "I have never seen anything like this in my entire life...Our Lakeview municipal building is demolished. Our laundromat is gone. The old plastics building is just completely demolished. Downtown, it's bad."

Logan County officials held a press conference to provide an update on the damage.

RAW: Logan County officials provide tornado update

Dodds said the damage in the area was "quite extensive."

"We have a lot of homes that are down," he said. "We have entrapment. We are conducting those searches, but what we've run into is [difficulty] gaining access into those places because the are trees down, power lines are down, we had some gas leaks, we had some fires. So in a couple spots, we had to back off so we could turn that gas off and power off."

Officials will be searching the area Friday to see if anyone else was injured by the storms.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources said Indian Lake State Park is closed until further notice as crews assess the storm damage.

Governor Mike DeWine spoke to the media at about 3:30 p.m. after touring damage in Logan County. Watch below:

Officials said they currently don't need any volunteers and are asking everyone to avoid the area until they finish assessing the damage.

RELATED: 'Tattered and torn, we're still here': Logan Co. families salvage what they can after tornadoes hit

'Tattered and torn, we're still here': Logan Co. families salvage what they can after tornadoes hit

If anyone wants to donate any supplies for residents, they are asked to drop them off at Indian Lakes High School.

RELATED: Deadly tornado sweeps Ohio trailer park amid Midwest outbreak

Richland County

News 5's John Kosich went to Plymouth Friday morning, where he saw how much damage happened, including parts of houses scattered on the ground and a car flipped over.

Storm damage in Richland County

In Richland County, residents said the tornado sirens started going off around 7:45 p.m. Thursday to prepare them for the storm that arrived shortly after.

Firefighters said multiple vehicles and homes were destroyed.

Storm damage in Richland County

The National Weather Service confirmed there was an EF-2 tornado in Plymouth.

The tornado started in Crawford County before hitting Richland County.

The tornado reached wind speeds of 120 miles per hour with a maximum width of 250 yards and spanned for 10 miles.

RELATED: 'I prayed that we would make it through': Richland Co. residents shaken by destructive tornado

'I prayed that we would make it through': Richland Co. residents shaken by destructive tornado

Three homes in the 5000 block of West Road were impacted, according to an update from Richland County EMA. One structure is uninhabitable with major damage, a small outbuilding for livestock was totally destroyed, and a pole barn had partial roof damage. No livestock were harmed.

Another residence had a pole building destroyed and trees and debris on the home, but the home is habitable, the EMA stated.

A third building had siding damage, a window blown out, and a large tree uprooted in the backyard.

All three properties are insured, and their insurance companies were on scene Friday.

Three homes were damaged in Plymouth by the tornado.

RAW: Richland County officials provide update on Thursday night's storms

Fortunately, no injuries were reported.

The storm took out power lines across Richland County.

It is unknown when it's expected to be restored.

Individuals in Richland County with storm damage should call 211 to report the damage.

RELATED: GALLERY: Strong storms cause significant damage across Ohio

The storm was nearly 15 miles away from where an EF-2 struck nearby Huron County last summer.

'It was God that protected us': Residents continue tornado cleanup in Huron Co.

Ohio River

A possible tornado touched down around near Madison, Indiana along the Ohio River.

Radar-indicated signatures confirmed that a tornado was on the ground around that time while the area was under a Tornado Warning.

Video shows apparent tornado crossing Ohio River

RELATED: VIDEO: Possible tornado touches down in Madison, Indiana and crosses Ohio River

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