Tornadoes, storms roar across Midwest, South USA

Powerful storms stretching from the Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes flattened buildings in several states, wrecked a small Indiana town and bred anxiety across a wide swath of the country in the second powerful tornado outbreak this week.

Widespread damage was reported in southern Indiana, where Clark County Sheriff’s Department Maj. Chuck Adams said the town of Marysville is “completely gone.” Dozens of houses were also damaged in Alabama and Tennessee two days after storms killed 13 people in the Midwest and South.

No fatalities had been reported in the latest round of storms this Friday.

Thousands of schoolchildren in several states were sent home as a precaution, and several Kentucky universities were closed.

At least 20 homes were badly damaged in the Chattanooga, Tenn., area after strong winds and hail lashed the area.

An apparent tornado also damaged a state maximum security prison about 10 miles from Huntsville, but none of the facility’s approximately 2,100 inmates escaped. (FL)