Local disaster declared following storm and tornado damage in Logan County

(Originally posted Wednesday at 5:20 p.m.)

[August 20, 2009]  Late Wednesday afternoon Logan County Board Chairman Terry Carlton made a local disaster declaration. Numerous areas of damage resulted following a severe storm that passed through Logan County around 4 p.m. The storm apparently spawned a tornado that touched down in several areas in southern and southeastern Logan County. At one point rotation was reported nine miles wide.

The Logan County Emergency Management Agency has begun damage assessment, with an emphasis on the hardest hit areas of the county, to the south and southeast. This is expected to be a long-term process that could take days or longer.

A tornado is believed to have touched down near Elkhart and skipped through the southern area of Logan County, touching down in numerous spots as it moved northwest though Beason.

All available Logan County emergency personnel have gone to southern Logan County to check for damage and possible injuries. Where structural damage is found, responders account for occupants and systematically check for possible gas leaks, power lines down and other hazards. There have been nine homes reported with significant damage, one injury and one man trapped in a car with power lines surrounding. Several gas leaks have also been found and dealt with.

Additional emergency services from Middletown, Elkhart and Hartsburg have responded to a mutual aid request for the Williamsville and Sherman area, where damage is most severe, with multiple homes damaged and significant damage throughout the area.

[By JAN YOUNGQUIST]