Rainstorm Floods Ohio Area, Tornado Takes High-School Roof

Storms dropped 6 inches of rain in six hours in Ohio overnight, flooding highways and cutting off electricity to thousands, authorities said.

In northern Ohio, a tornado ripped off a high-school roof.

At least seven people in Ohio were injured in the storms since last night, including a man struck by lightning.

The National Weather Service issued flood warnings for much of central Ohio this morning. Waters were rising even though the rain was tapering off.

The storm cut power to about 20,000 customers of Columbus Southern Power Co. in Franklin and southern Delaware counties.

Much of the Franklinton neighborhoodin Columbus was flooded, and many roads were blocked.

In Logan County in west-central Ohio, some Lakeview residents were rescued from their homes by boat, said a sheriff's dispatcher. Three bridges also were washed out in the county, she said.

Damage also was reported in other parts of the state, including northern Ohio, where tornadoes were reported last night.

A Lucas County sheriff's dispatcher said a tornado damaged houses and blew the roof off Anthony Wayne High School in Whitehouse near Toledo. In west-central Ohio, part of the roof of Celina Senior High School was blown off, said Sgt. Larry Reganz.

Jim Kosarik, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service at Cleveland, said wind speeds were clocked at 70 mph.

To the west, a tornado destroyed a home and three barns last night in Adams County in northeastern Indiana, but there were no reports of injuries.

In Los Angeles, a rash of chain-reaction accidents during a rare summer rainstorm left seven dead and dozens hurt, authorities said.

A truck hauling 2,000 pounds of live catfish skidded on wet pavement and overturned on the San Bernardino Freeway in Montclair, about 35 miles east of downtown, the California Highway Patrol said.

A van slammed into the truck, killing a 48-year-old woman, and six other vehicles piled up. The freeway was closed for five hours.