Americas

Americas

Tornadoes kill 8 in Indiana

03 March 2012 02:25 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. At least eight people were killed after tornadoes slammed into several communities in southern Indiana and caused extensive property damage Friday afternoon, local press reported.

Among the dead, three were killed in Jefferson County and another died near Henryville in Clark County, the report said.

Houses are missing near the unincorporated town of Chelsea, about 50 km north of Louisville, according to Jefferson County Sheriff’ s Department dispatcher Shelly Jones.

There was "extensive damage to the local high school," Henryville Junior-Senior High School, around which most of the damage is concentrated, Maj. Chuck Adams of the Clark County Sheriff’s Department told CNN.

The school’ s roof has been torn off, segments of the wall have been knocked down and windows are blown out, emergency workers and residents looking for loved ones were streaming by the Henryville school complex.

National Weather Service meteorologist John Gordon reported Friday afternoon the agency has about "half a dozen reports of tornadoes on the ground," as well as reports of "significant damage" -- stressing all the while that the worst may still be to come.

Tornadoes were also reported in Tennessee’s Chattanooga, with reports of at least 24 injured. Two tornadoes reportedly touched down and hit northeast Alabama about 10 minutes apart, between 9 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. local time.