BUTLER, Ky. -- Three people were hospitalized after their mobile home was blown over during Wednesday night's severe storms, according to the Pendleton County Search & Rescue chief.
The victims,which included an elderly couple and one other, were inside the home on Bethel Lane when it flipped over, leaving the roof on the ground and the floor where the roof should be, according to Chief Darrin Brown
PHOTOS: Your pics from Wednesday's storms
The Pendleton County Sheriff's Office arrived at the scene first and found the victims had furniture and other debris on top of them.
Strong winds left a mobile home heavily damaged. Photo by John Genovese | WCPO
While the man was able to get out through a window and walk away, at least one woman had to be cut out and taken away on a stretcher, Brown said. All three went to St. Elizabeth Fort Thomas to be treated for minor injuries.
There was some initial indication that only two people were injured but family members said three people living at the home were hospitalized.
Pendleton County emergency crews were responding to a fire and a report of another home's roof blown off at the same time, Brown said.
"Rain, wind, a lot of radio traffic made it even more difficult. Like I said, we had two different things going on at the same time in different parts of the county, which makes it really bad. But our dispatch handled it and emergency crews handled everything just fine," Brown said.
The family said they were supposed to be celebrating Christmas but will instead spend the holiday unwrapping their gifts from all the debris left behind by the storm.
“I've never experienced anything like this in my life. It's the worst Christmas I'll ever spend,” storm victim Dallas Arthur said.
He spent the night at the hospital after the incident. Arthur said he was inside the home at the time with his wife and sister-in-law.
He said they suffered cuts and bruises. Arthur was thankful for the firefighters that helped to free them.
“The house shook a little bit and next thing I know we was gone trying to dig our way out. It was a rough ride. Just thank God. We're alive,” Arthur said.
Just down the road from the home, the Bethel church had its roof ripped off by the wind.
Parishioners came to the church on Christmas Eve to make repairs to the more than 130-year-old building.
North of Dry Ridge, Kentucky, in Grant County, winds blew a barn roof into power lines along U.S. Route 25; pieces of the roof were scattered across the roadway, along with the downed power lines.
A barn roof was blown into power lines and is shattered across 25 north of #DryRidge, Ky. @WCPO #cincywx pic.twitter.com/TewZ7N7FSL
— Evan Millward (@EvanMillward) December 24, 2015
Adam Kilgore, who lives in Grant County, said he couldn't get home because power lines blocked his road.
"I was driving around trying to find officials to figure out and ask some questions to see when I can get my child home and get her medication," he said. "I guess it looks like we are going to pack it in and jump county and go to my parents' house."
In Ohio, Brown County reported trees and power lines down in Georgetown. Clermont County had no reports of damage.
Heavy rain flooded several roads. Officials in Franklin County, Indiana had reports of standing and running water on St. Mary's Road between Levee and East Alley roads. And in Hamilton County, Wooster Pike was blocked by floodwaters in Terrace Park:
Wooster Pike is shut down near Terrace Park because of flooding. @WCPO @KetchmarkWCPO @Cincywxman pic.twitter.com/YGeDXRydJo
— Ally Kraemer (@AllyKraemer) December 24, 2015
Wednesday evening's strong storms also left thousands without power late into Wednesday night, mostly near Bethel in Clermont County and Williamstown in Grant and Pendleton counties.
MAP: Latest power outages
At the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport, more than a dozen inbound flights were delayed or diverted as the severe weather struck the region.
