3 Dead, Nearly 700,000 Without Power As Powerful Storms Slam the Midwest

A powerful storm system swept across the Midwest this week, killing at least three people, damaging homes and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of customers across Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia.

Fatalities, Widespread Damage Reported Across Multiple States

A 4-year-old boy died Tuesday when a tree fell on his home in Geneva, Indiana, according to the Jennings County Sheriff's Office. In Ohio, Gov. Mike DeWine said a resident of Roseville died during a medical emergency after flooded roads kept first responders from reaching them in time. Authorities in Portage, Indiana, are investigating whether the severe weather contributed to a house explosion that killed one person there.

The National Weather Service confirmed three tornadoes touched down in counties south of Chicago, and a wind gust of 99 mph was recorded in Gary, Indiana. Forecasters said the intense system that moved from Iowa into Indiana likely qualified as a derecho, a prolonged straight-line wind event capable of damage comparable to a tornado or hurricane.

Nearly 700,000 customers remained without power midday Wednesday across the five affected states, according to poweroutage.us. Columbus, Ohio, Mayor Andrew Ginther declared an emergency Wednesday to give the city time to address continuing outages and storm cleanup, with downed trees and wires reported in many areas.