Source: WISH-TV / other
UPDATE: An NWS Indianapolis survey team has confirmed a tornado with a preliminary damage rating of EF-3 in Winchester. It had wind gusts between 136 and 165 mph.
WINCHESTER, Ind. — Several homes were damaged and nearly 10,000 homes were without power at one point in Randolph and Delaware Counties late Thursday evening.
Indiana State Police say a tornado ripped through the communities of Selma and Winchester. It’s not clear yet if anyone has been killed because of the tornado, but ISP Supt. Doug Carter said they do know several people have been hurt.
“The governor, Holcomb, has approved to activate Task Force 1, and as you know there is no one better on the planet than that group of people,” said ISP Supt. Doug Carter also expressed concerns over the possibility of looting now that the sun has come up.
The storms started rolling in at around 8 p.m. according to Winchester mayor Robert McCoy. He was home with his family when the outer edges of the storm moved in and the city’s only tornado siren went off. He says 38 people were injured, some of them are in bad shape. No one was killed.
“Right now we have 4,285 people without power,” McCoy said in a late Friday morning update. “AEP is on the ground currently working, street crews are working to get power restored.”
Gov. Eric Holcomb is in Winchester today touring neighborhoods with the most significant damage which include leveled houses and businesses, down power lines, and large trees that have been uprooted.
“Your family here, this community, has just gotten a lot larger,” Holcomb said to McCoy during the press conference. “It’s gone statewide. People are going to want to rush in to help. I Just applaud all the first responders here who lived through it all and by the grace of God, everyone has lived through it all.”
Those looking to reunify with loved ones who are found in the search efforts today are urged to go to Winchester High School. That is also where the Red Cross has a shelter set up so people can get out of the elements and talk with insurance experts about the damage their property took.
“I really praise the Lord for this one, because it could have been really bad,” McCoy said.
