Tornadoes leave ‘devastation beyond belief,’ sheriff in Ohio says

FULLER ASSESSMENT OF THE DAMAGE. THANKFULLY, OVERNIGHT NO ONE HERE WAS REPORTED MISSING. HODA? >> JESSE, THANK YOU. WE ARE JOINED BY RANDAL DODDS. SHERIFF DODDS, GOOD MORNING. GOOD TO SEE YOU. YOU ARE NOT ONLY A SHERIFF. YOU HAVE A LIFELONG RESIDENT RAISED IN THAT TINY COMMUNITY. RIGHT NOW YOU ARE JUST STARTING TO ASSESS THE DAMAGE. SHERIFF, WHAT ARE YOU SEEING? >> WELL, GOOD MORNING AND THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME THIS MORNING. IT IS DEVASTATING. JUST DEVASTATION BEYOND BELIEF. AND IT WILL PROBABLY BE EVEN MORE SEVERE WHEN DAYLIGHT COMES UP. A COUPLE MORE POCKETS THERE, JUST DEVASTATED. >> SO SHERIFF, IT HAS BEEN DESCRIBED AS A MASS CASUALTY EVENT WITH A FEW FATALITIES. ARE YOU CONCERNED THE NUMBERS WILL GO HIGHER? AND WHAT ARE YOU HEARING ABOUT INJURIES? >> I AM CONCERNED. I ANTICIPATE WE'RE GOING TO FIND MORE. THERE IS STILL POCKETS OF HOUSES THAT WE NEED TO GET INTO THAT WE CAN'T GET INTO. WE WILL NEED HEAVY EQUIPMENT TO MOVE -- MOVE THAT -- MOVE THE MATERIAL SO WE COULD FIND THESE VICTIMS. NUMEROUS INJURIES. I CAN'T BEGIN TO TELL YOU HOW MANY, BUT TOO MANY TO COUNT. UNFORTUNATELY, BUT I DO ANTICIPATE FUNDING ADDITIONAL DECREASED PERSONS UNFORTUNATELY TODAY. >> WELL, THAT IS SO DIFFICULT. LIKE YOU WERE SAYING, IT IS GOING TO TAKE A LOT OF WORK TO SEARCH FOR SURVIVORS. YOU SAID YOU NEED HEAVY EQUIPMENT. WHAT ELSE DO YOU NEED TO TAKE CARE OF THAT. >> Reporter: YEAH. WE ARE BRINGING A PLANE IN TODAY WITH FIRE AND EMS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT. WE HAVE SEARCHED SOME OF THESE AREAS TWICE, BUT WE FEEL LIKE WE NEED TO GO BACK AND DO ANOTHER SEARCH WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF THE CADAVER DOGS. THAT WILL HELP US IN WHICH DIRECTION TO GO. ONE OF THE BIG ISSUES LAST NIGHT WAS BEING ABLE TO HAVE ACCESS, FOR EXAMPLE, TO THE ORCHARD ISLAND AREA. THERE WERE DOWNED POWER LINES. THERE WERE DOWNED TREES. THEN WE HAD NATURAL GAS LEAKS UP THERE. FOR THE SAFETY OF OUR RESPONDERS, WE HAD TO PULL OUT UNTIL WE HAD THE GAS LEAK STOPPED AND THE POWER TURNED OFF. THERE WAS A LOT OF THINGS TO TRAVERSE, BUT WE ARE WORKING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. AND I'M HOPING TO FIND SOME POSITIVE THINGS TODAY. I'M HOPING WE FIND SOME SURVIVORS THAT MADE IT THROUGH THE NIGHT. I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT HAPPENING AS WELL. >> SHERIFF, JUST FOR A SECOND, TAKE OFF YOUR SHERIFF'S HAT. I KNOW YOU ARE A LIFE-LONG RESIDENT THERE. EVERYBODY KNOWS EVERYBODY. WILL YOU JUST TELL US HOW THE COMMUNITY IS DOING? >> I WAS IMPRESSED WITH THE RESPONSE WE GOT FROM OUTSIDE AGENCIES. WE WERE BLESSED IN THAT CAPACITY. AND THEN THE VOLUNTEERS SHOWED UP. IN FACT, WE WERE ACTUALLY OVERRUN WITH VOLUNTEERS. PEOPLE HAVE GOOD VENGSS. THEY WANT TO HELP. I GET THAT. BUT IN SOME ASPECTS IT SLOWED US DOWN A LITTLE BIT. AS YOU SAID, HODA, EVERYBODY KNOWS EVERYBODY. WE CARE ABOUT EACH OTHER HERE. YEAH. I'M A LIFELONG RESIDENT. I'M FAMILIAR WITH THAT LAKE AREA. I HAVE LIVED AROUND IT MOST OF MY LIFE. I HAVE SEEN DEVASTATION, YOU KNOW, OTHER AREAS, MAINLY ON TELEVISION. BUT WHEN IT HITS HOME, IT REALLY WAKES YOU UP AND MAKES YOU APPRECIATE HOW PRECIOUS LIFE IS. >> IT IS

Channel: TODAY

Views: 8,745

Keywords: Al Roker, Entertainment, Food, Health, Hoda Kotb, Home, International News, Money, Natalie Morales, Savannah Gutherie, Sports, Style, Today, Today Show, breaking news, concerts, domestic news, interviews, media, parents, pets, politics, shopping, weather

Id: v7-XHRZTwJQ

Length: 3min 53sec (233 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 15 2024