A severe winter storm killed at least seven people and left almost half a million energy customers without power Monday morning as strong winds and heavy rain caused havoc from the mid-Atlantic to the South.
Four people were killed in Michigan, two died in Indiana and one person was killed in Oklahoma, officials said. An EF-2 tornado in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, on Monday ripped the home off a roof but caused no injuries.
The threat of severe weather and heavy rain continued for a region from the mid-Atlantic to parts of the Southeast through Monday night, the National Weather Service said.
The Kalamazoo County, Michigan, Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that three people from the same family were killed when a tree hit a vehicle Sunday, with three others taken to hospitals. One was in critical condition, and the two others were stable, the statement said.
In Ingham County, a 58-year-old man died Sunday after a tree fell onto his house, the sheriff’s office there told NBC affiliate WILX of Lansing.
The Porter County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that a man died Sunday in Valparaiso, Indiana, when his semitruck and trailer were blown over in winds of up to 80 mph. The victim was identified as Jagbir Singh, 34, and there were widespread reports of trees’ being knocked down or uprooted in strong gusts.
A man was killed in Cherokee County, Oklahoma, when a tree fell onto a camper just before 2 a.m. Sunday, NBC affiliate KJRH of Tulsa reported, citing local officials.
A preliminary report from the weather service office in northern Indiana said one person was killed when an Amish buggy was toppled in high winds in Millersburg, Indiana. NBC News contacted law enforcement officials but did not receive confirmation of the report until early Monday.
