LOGAN COUNTY, Ohio — Authorities in Logan County held multiple press conferences Friday to provide updates after Thursday night's deadly Ohio storms brought heavy damage to the Indian Lake area.
Logan County Sheriff Randall J. Dodds announced there are three confirmed deaths connected to the severe weather. Their names and ages were not released.
“The devastation was such that we have to get heavy equipment into these areas to be able to move this material where homes have collapsed to see if there’s anybody injured," Sheriff Dodds said. "It’s a slow pace. It’s going to take a long time.”
Officials also said there's a need for items like batteries, garbage bags, soap, work gloves, toiletries and other similar products amid the recovery. Donations can be made at Indian Lake High School.
Dodds said in an update Friday afternoon that the search and rescue mission that had resumed Friday morning was complete and that the confirmed death toll remained at three people.
"When you see this damage, you'll be surprised that it was only three," Dodds said.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine visited Indian Lake on Friday and said that "an awful lot of damage" remains. He expressed sympathy for the families and loved ones of the victims and praised the resilience of the communities affected.
"I had the chance to talk with some people who have lost their house, or lost part of their house, or have been in some way impacted. And to see their spirit, and their resilience and their toughness, how strong they are, it's just absolutely amazing to me," DeWine said.
DeWine said the Indian Lake community "will come back."
"That's the message I got from everybody: We will be back," DeWine said. "It is not lost on any of us that the summer season is almost here. So we're going to continue to work with local officials ... and we've already started talking among ourselves about some of the things we can do to be of help."
Video from Logan County overnight shows the aftermath of the storms with severe damage to various homes in the area. You can watch that footage in the video below:
Logan County is located about an hour north of Dayton in west central Ohio.
The Logan County Sheriff's Office said search and rescue efforts would resume at 9 a.m.
Matt Bruning of ODOT also shared this footage on X Friday morning that shows the severe weather from one of their traffic cameras: