Dramatic Midwest Tornadoes Claim Lives and Leave Dozens Injured

 At least three people were killed in a string of tornadoes along the border of Indiana and Ohio Thursday night, local officials said Friday, after the storms left thousands without power and a destruction path with “unbelievable damage.”

 Sheriff Randall Dodds of Logan County, Ohio, told CNN Friday morning the destruction from the tornadoes made it appear like a “bomb going off,” leaving “unbelievable damage,” and killing three people.

Speaking to NBC’s “TODAY,” Dodds said two of those deaths occurred at a mobile home park in the village of Lakeview, north of Dayton, Ohio.

Logan County Chief Deputy Joe Kopus expects more fatalities as search crews investigate the destruction, the Associated Press reported, with Kopus saying the towns of Lakeview, Midway, Orchard Island and Russells Point experienced “heavy damage.”

In Bellafontaine, Ohio, Mayor David Crissman said people are trapped in a collapsed building, while some injuries have been reported from houses and campgrounds, CNN reported.

The tornadoes were part of a larger storm system that swept through the Midwest on Wednesday and Thursday that brought thunderstorms, wind gusts around 65 mph and baseball-sized hail.

Temporary shelters have been set up for residents in Ohio and Indiana, local officials said, while search and rescue efforts remain underway.

More than 26,500. That’s how many homes and businesses were left without power in Indiana and Ohio Friday morning, according to the site PowerOutage.us, including more than 21,000 in Ohio alone.

Severe thunderstorm watches and warnings remain in effect throughout central Alabama, and parts of Mississippi and Georgia. The National Weather Service has also issued a hazardous weather outlook in parts of Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and South Carolina, warning of winds up to 40 mph, heavy rain and “frequent cloud to ground lightning.”