Tornadoes kill at least 13 in Indiana
by The Statehouse File
A 15-month-old child found in a field after a tornado tore through Pekin has died, bringing the total number of Indiana storm fatalities to 13, state officials said Sunday night.
A Kentucky coroner confirmed that Angel Babcock – whose parents and siblings were killed Friday – died despite treatment at Kosair Children"s Hospital in Louisville.
The Indiana Department of Homeland Security had previously reduced the death count from 14, citing a mistake in counting on Saturday.
Meanwhile, investigators from the National Weather Service were continuing to evaluate they say looks to have been caused by EF-4 tornadoes.
Tornado damage in New Pekin, Indiana from The Statehouse File on Vimeo.
The EF-4 designation means the tornado had gusts of 166 miles per hour to 200 miles per hour.
The weather service said two supercell thunderstorms tracked over Southern Indiana, each producing a tornado along its path.
Between the Southern Indiana towns of New Pekin and Henryville, the storms followed essentially the same path, separated by roughly 10 minutes. The first storm was the more powerful of the two, producing the EF-4 damage to homes and the Henryville Junior-Senior High School in Clark County.
Further EF-4 damage was found near Chelsea in Jefferson County Indiana.
Investigators found EF-3 damage in New Pekin, which means gusts of 136 to 165 miles per hour.
"These findings are preliminary and are complicated by the long distance involved," the National Weather Service said. "More details will follow, including path length, width, and timing information as well as even EF-rating, after additional storm survey teams are dispatched on Sunday and as storm damage pictures are more thoroughly assessed."
State officials initially said the storms lead to 14 deaths. However, on Sunday, the Department of Homeland Security reduced that number to 12.
DHS assessment teams have released some initial damage estimates. The agency says nearly 100 homes were damaged, including 19 that were destroyed, 20 with major damage, 11 with minor damage and 48 otherwise affected.
Teams have found 14 destroyed businesses, 10 with major damage, four with minor damage and two other businesses affected.
"Information is still being gathered," the agency said. "The hardest hit counties are reported to be Jefferson, Scott, Ripley and Washington."
Other emergency teams were continuing work Sunday to complete search and rescue efforts.
And U.S. Sen. Dan Coats, R-Ind., planned to spend Sunday surveying storm damage. Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman was to have joined him but canceled her trip due to illness.
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