More than a dozen people were taken to hospitals Tuesday evening after lightning struck an Ohio correctional facility, with one person requiring transport by medical helicopter.
JoEllen Smith, chief of communications for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, said early information suggests the strike happened at Grafton Correctional Institution as incarcerated people were heading back from the evening meal.
Officials said 16 people in total were moved to an outside hospital to receive medical care following the incident.
The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction said in a news release that no fatalities had been reported at the Lorain County prison.
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The lightning strike was reported as waves of severe weather, including powerful thunderstorms and flash flooding, battered parts of the Midwest and the Ohio Valley.
Those storms have also knocked out electricity across the region, with more than 250,000 customers in Ohio alone left without power.
The FOX Forecast Center reported that a thunderstorm moved through Lorain County during the 5 p.m. hour, generating dozens of lightning strikes in the area.
Authorities said they remain on scene and are continuing to evaluate and monitor the situation.
