Strong storms with reports of tornadoes leave at least two dead and destroy homes in Indiana and Ohio

(CNN) — Thunderstorms swept through eastern Indiana and western Ohio Thursday night, killing at least two people, destroying parts of several cities and leaving thousands without power.

Logan County Sheriff Randall Dodds told CNN affiliate WSYX that two people were killed in a suspected tornado that hit the western Ohio community of Indian Lake.

Injuries were also reported in two states, including at least 38 in Indiana and more than 20 in Ohio, officials said.

The storms were part of a broader system that put more than 45 million people from Texas to western Pennsylvania at risk of severe storms as of early Friday. As of Thursday night, there were two tornado reports in Indiana and five in Ohio, according to the Storm Prediction Center.

More than 10,000 homes and businesses in Indiana and about 37,000 in Ohio were without power Thursday night, according to PowerOutage.us.

In Winchester, Indiana, state police were assisting with search and rescue efforts after a possible tornado touched down in the area. Agency spokesman Scott Keegan said on social media that temporary shelters have been set up for residents.

State Police Superintendent Doug Carter described the storm in Winchester as a “terrible, terrible event” with several reports of significant injuries.

Several houses and other buildings were destroyed in Winchester, he added. Officials must now check damaged buildings for any signs of missing people, Carter said. “Every one of these facilities has to be looked at, especially the ones that are completely broken,” he said.

Selma, Indiana — a town of about 700 people near Winchester — appears to have been damaged by a severe storm that could spawn a tornado, the Delaware County Emergency Management Agency said.

Storms also wreak havoc in Ohio

A strong tornado capable of causing significant damage is also believed to have hit parts of Auglaize and Logan counties in western Ohio, the Storm Prediction Center said.

About 19 people were treated Thursday night for storm-related injuries at Mary Rutten Health Center in Logan County, Ohio, according to a spokeswoman for the center.

Logan County’s Indian Lake, Lakeview and Russell’s Point areas were hit hard by the storm, said David Chrisman, mayor of the county seat of Bellefontaine.

The county’s emergency management agency said parts of Logan County suffered “significant damage.” The agency had no information on injuries or damage, and said it was receiving a barrage of calls and was working to organize its response.

“I have a report of a building collapsed. There are people trapped. There are some injuries from various campsites and homes around the lake,” Chrisman said. A trailer park in the northwest corner of the county was also destroyed, he added.

“scary”

In Lakeview, a video shared by Elena Roberts appeared to show damaged buildings along the road. She said she was on her way home from her second-grade son’s concert at a school when the weather took a turn for the worse.

“It was terrifying (…). Tornado sirens sounded,” he said. When he got home, he realized the worst of the storm was over “for the wind and rain were very strong.” “I’ve never heard anything so loud,” he recalled.

Tornadoes could also touch part of Mercer County in west-central Ohio, an official there said. The affected area is mostly farmland, and at least one home and a hog barn were damaged, county emergency management director Mike Robbins told CNN by phone. East of that area, outside Salina, the Mercer County seat, the storm damaged several trailer homes and left three people with minor injuries, Robbins said.

Tornadoes were reported in Indiana and Ohio as severe storms swept across parts of the central and eastern US on Thursday. According to the Storm Prediction Center, the area from Texas to Ohio was below a Level 2 of 5 for severe storms capable of producing tornadoes and damaging wind gusts on Thursday, while the high risk was at a Level 3 of 5, according to the Storm Prediction Center. Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

CNN’s Taylor Ward, Raja Razek, Andy Rose, Jamel Lynch and Jason Hanna contributed to this report.