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Weekend tornadoes, flooding leave 10 dead in Midwest


NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)–High winds, heavy rain and dozens of tornadoes swept through the Midwest during the Memorial Day weekend, killing at least 10 people.

The small town of Marengo, Ind., 35 miles northwest of Louisville, Ky., was hit with winds up to 170 mph, according to estimates from the National Weather Service. Two Indiana National Guard units were set to arrive in the town of 800 people June 1 to assist with cleanup. Indiana’s governor extended a disaster emergency for the entire state he issued a week earlier after previous storms pounded the region.

In Giles County, Tenn., about 80 miles south of Nashville, a 7-year-old girl was killed when a brick wall collapsed in her home. In nearby Hardin County, 22 people were injured when wind knocked over trees at the campground where they were staying, according to the Associated Press.

Floods were the largest problem in West Virginia, where storms dumped more than four inches of rain in the southern section of the state. An elderly man died when he was swept away by floodwaters. The governor declared a state of emergency in three counties May 31, after declaring emergencies in seven other counties from another round of storms May 28. About 1,000 families were reported homeless in Mingo County after the storms, according to The Charleston Gazette.

In Kentucky, the weather service confirmed a tornado damaged homes in a Louisville-area subdivision May 30, and another destroyed a home and caused other damage in Barnsley, closer to Paducah. The Barnsley tornado had confirmed winds of 140 mph and cut a path six miles long, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader. In Eastern Kentucky, many residents were evacuated from their homes as waters from nearby creeks rose to dangerous levels.

Southern Baptist Disaster Relief officials were assessing damage in West Virginia June 1 to determine whether a response was necessary. Baptists were responding to cleanup needs in Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana locally, and there was no anticipation of a national response in the three states, according to a spokesman for the Southern Baptist North American Mission Board.
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