3 dead, almost 1 million without power as severe storms strike Midwest

More than 1 million customers were without power in four states as storms with winds gusting more than 80 mph tore down trees and power lines.

A person died in a suspected weather-related house explosion, a 4-year-old boy was killed when a tree fell on his home in Indiana, and another person died in Ohio as furious storms moved through the Midwest on Tuesday, officials said.

Two of the deaths were in Indiana, where a home in Portage exploded and a fire broke out around 12:20 p.m. and where a child died when a tree fell on his bedroom about 3:30 p.m. in Jennings County, according to police.

“Contributions are probably wind and the storms that came through this county earlier today,” Jennings County Chief Sheriff’s Deputy Cody Low said about the child’s death in Geneva Township.

Another person was killed in Ohio. Gov. Mike DeWine said that a person died in Roseville and that emergency response crews could not reach them.

A state of emergency was declared in the state after widespread flooding. Flash flood warnings are in effect for 16 million people in the area Wednesday as severe storms continue to plague the Midwest.