Gov. DeWine visits Logan County nearly 3 weeks after deadly EF-3 Tornado

INDIAN LAKE — Governor Mike DeWine visited Logan County Tuesday to look at the damage from last month’s deadly EF-3 Tornado in Logan County.

He was in Indian Lake to see how the cleanup was progressing.

Three people died in the tornado, more than 130 buildings were destroyed, and damaged hundreds of others.

News Center 7′s Taylor Robertson said DeWine and several local officials said at a news conference on Tuesday that the priority is to make sure people in Logan County have a roof over their heads and they have been talking about putting in temporary housing.

“Every resident, every community member, every person, every family, every student at Indian Lake High School is precious to us,” said Joe Antram, Logan County Commissioner. “We certainly don’t want to lose any of these people because they feel like they no longer have a place at Indian Lake or in Logan County.

250 families in Logan County lost their homes and everything they own from March’s EF-3 tornado, according to community leaders.

“Our main goal is to find housing that is appropriate and that is safe,” said Antram.

Robertson reports that Governor DeWine is working on a plan to possibly bring in recreational vehicles for people to stay in.

News Center 7 reported on Friday that his office asked for federal disaster assistance as the state is working to provide aid to the 11 counties impacted by March’s tornadoes.

“(We are) certainly urging the white house to give us the declaration but we have no guarantee at this point,” said DeWine. “We are told by FEMA that the decision could take a long, long time.”

He thinks it is important for the state to act. It is a combined effort between the State Senate and House.

“We’re going to take this very seriously trying to address this with some financial dollars to help but also I think we’re also thinking long term,” said State Rep. Jon Cross.

Their long-term plan is to business back to how it was pre-tornado.

“We want this community to continue to thrive,” said DeWine. “We want people who were here to know there is a place for them here. Indian Lake is a very, very special place.”

Robertson says with the eclipse coming up on Monday, officials want people to know that Indian Lake is back open for business.

They will have several events going on and everyone is invited.

1 of 135