5 Die in Ohio as Tornadoes Ravage U.S. Heartland

Five persons were reportedly killed by the tornadoes that struck Ohio on Sunday night and Monday morning. The storms were part of a system that caused waves of death and destruction throughout the U.S. heartland from Louisiana to Pennsylvania.

In addition to the five deaths reported in Ohio, sixteen people were reported dead in Tennessee, twelve in Alabama, one in Mississippi and Pennsylvania. The toll may mount as emergency workers begin clearing the damages from the 70 tornadoes that hit the U.S. over the weekend.

The twisters were spawned by the clash of cold dry air from the Great Plains moving eastward with warm moist air from the Gulf of Mexico. Authorities estimate that windspeeds within some of the funnels may have reached level 5, the highest on the Fujita scale of tornado intensity, indicating winds as high as 300 mph or more.

While tornadoes frequently occur at this time of year in the southern and mid-western states, these storms were of unusual intensity and destructive power. Only about one percent of the approximately 1000 tornadoes that strike the U.S. each year reach level 5.

According to a report from the Akron Beacon Journal, the storms that struck Ohio originated in the northwestern part of the state, killing two people and injuring 21 in Van Wert County. Two more people died in a mobile home northeast of there in Putnam County, according to sheriffs’ officials.

“A house collapsed in Seneca County as the storms moved east, killing one person inside and injuring two others,” said the report, while another person was critically injured when a trailer outside of Continental was overturned. “The storms cut a 100-mile swath from Van Wert near the Indiana state line to Port Clinton along Lake Erie,” the report indicated.

Insurance companies and associations are geared up to process claims. They urged homeowners to contact their insurance agent, broker or a company office as soon as possible with damage reports. Individuals who suffer damages from tornadoes are usually covered under homeowners and comprehensive automobile policies. Businesses are covered under commercial policies.

The Insurance Information Institute issued a bulletin reminding consumers that it provides brochures and advice regarding what to do before, during and after a tornado. It also advised the media that it has set up a hotline for reporters with questions regarding insurance and tornadoes in Tennessee and Ohio, at the following numbers:

800-331-9146 — New York
202-833-1580 — Washington, DC
800-204-6763 — Pager