Storms Kill 10 in Midwest, South

MARENGO, Ind. – The death toll from a chain of Memorial Day (search) holiday thunderstorms and tornadoes (search) stood at 10 as residents of the South and Midwest struggled with power outages, debris and water-logged streets.

Storms produced heavy rain, high winds and dozens of tornadoes along an arc from Louisiana to New England (search). More thunderstorms moved across parts of the Great Lakes (search) states Monday.

Gov. Joe Kernan surveyed the damage from a helicopter Monday, a day after the storms that destroyed dozens of homes, and said the town of Marengo "just got clobbered." The National Weather Service estimated winds up to 170 mph blew through the town of 800 people.

Two Indiana National Guard units were expected to arrive Tuesday in Marengo, about 35 miles northwest of Louisville, Ky., to move heavy debris to help reopen roads, said Lt. Col. Larry Powers, a Guard spokesman.

Kernan has extended a disaster emergency he issued last week for the entire state. He said he expected Federal Emergency Management Agency officials to arrive Tuesday to begin reviewing whether areas would be eligible for disaster aid.

Crews used backhoes and tractors Monday to clear Marengo's streets and yards. Power company workers erected new utility poles in the town. And residents used chain saws to cut up scores of fallen trees, including one that fell next to the town's elementary school and mangled its playground equipment.

"Everything we own is gone," Amber Terry said as she picked through the wreckage of her mobile home, which was smashed into a neighbor's house about 20 feet away. She said she, her husband and two young children would move in with her parents.

"Just pick up and start over," Terry said.

Nearly 100 homes and farm buildings were destroyed or damaged in Tennessee's Giles County, about 80 miles south of Nashville. A total of 22 people were injured in Hardin County — most at a campground where wind knocked over trees, destroying some 25 camper trailers.

The National Weather Service said it believed winds of more than 60 mph were to blame for the damage, although forecasters didn't rule out a tornado.

"We have had a very long night and from what we can tell, we've had substantial damage in the southeastern part of the county," said Fran Chavez, a supervisor at the Giles County's 911 center.

On Monday, the death toll rose when a 7-year-old Tennessee girl died after a wall collapsed in her Giles County home. And an 83-year-old Indiana man died when wind flipped over his mobile home in Marengo.

In West Virginia, storms dumped more than 4 inches of rain in coalfields in the southern section of the state, killing an elderly man who was swept away by flooding and injuring his wife in Wyoming County. Gov. Bob Wise declared a state of emergency in that county and two others Monday, after declaring emergencies in seven other counties Friday.

In Kentucky, the weather service said it confirmed that a tornado damaged buildings in one Louisville-area subdivision on Sunday, and another in Barnsley, Ky., destroyed a home and blew off businesses' roofs along a six-mile-long path. No injuries were reported from either tornado.

In Ohio, a man died early Monday after being struck by lightning at a campground in Lebanon, northeast of Cincinnati. Police said the man apparently was fishing at a private lake and campground.

The powerful storms also were blamed for one death in Missouri on Sunday, where a man was killed by a tree that slammed onto his car. On Saturday, a tornado cut a destructive 50-mile path across northwest Missouri, killing three people and injuring four children.

High winds were blamed for two deaths in Kansas, also on Saturday.