Tornadoes hit midwest

A string of severe storms turned deadly Sunday in a mid-afternoon outbreak of tornadoes across the Midwest.

At least five people died in Illinois after tornadoes hit  the area, and severe damage was reported across Indiana.

Kokomo, Ind., and Lebanon, Ind., were among Indiana’s worst-hit, with images on Twitter showing houses thrown into the middle of the road.

In Monroe County, Duke Energy reported up to 1,696 power outages.

Strong winds pulled down power lines around town and knocked down tree limbs in Bloomington.

Flooding delayed traffic throughout Bloomington, and there were also reports of a small leak in the ceiling of Assembly Hall just before tipoff at the men’s basketball game.

In Kokomo, a state of emergency was declared until 6 a.m. Monday, and citizens were told to stay inside and off the streets. In Lebanon, the twister hit a Starbucks coffeeshop, where cars were thrown in the parking lot, and the store was destroyed.

A meteorologist with the National Weather Service confirmed significant tornado damage was also reported in Vincennes, Ind., and Washington, Ind., southwest of Bloomington.

Earlier, a “large and extremely dangerous” tornado was seen eight miles west of Bedford, Ind., according to a tweet from the National Weather Service in Indianapolis.

— Charles Scudder